Exclusive:Festivals outside Edinburgh and Glasgow ignored under £1m expansion in Expo funds

The Scottish Government’s Expo fund will hand out increased packages to 14 festivals in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Festivals have warned of a “missed opportunity” as SNP ministers admitted events outside Scotland's two biggest cities will not benefit from this year's expanded Scottish Government Expo fund this year.

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said in January the fund, which was boosted by £1 million as part of a significant rise in culture funding announced in January, would look to expand its reach beyond Edinburgh and Glasgow, where 14 major festivals will see significant grant increases.

The Edinburgh International Book Festival is to see its contribution rise from £105,000 last year to £200,000 this year. | Edinburgh International Book Festival

However, the Government confirmed to The Scotsman the roll-out will not happen this year and instead will be considered for the future as part of a new Government-led steering group - the Strategic Festivals Partnership - set up earlier this year.

Some Central Belt festivals will see their funding more than tripled, with the overall pot totalling £2.8m across the 14 festivals, up from £1.7m the previous year.

Cathy Agnew, chair of Wigtown Festival Company, which runs Wigtown Book Festival, as well as stand alone children’s book festival Big Dog in Dumfries, said: "Additional funding is urgently needed for the arts in every part of Scotland and it will be a missed opportunity if extra resources are not being spread beyond the Central Belt right away.

“Arts and cultural organisations in rural areas are in especially urgent need of support as they often have little chance of finding sponsorship and support from other sources. Many had hoped that this round of funding would help them in difficult times.”

Ms Agnew added: "We are hopeful that the Scottish Government will, at the very least, ensure that funds are allocated to other organisations and other parts of the country in the very near future."

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The Edinburgh International Book Festival is to see its funding rise from £105,000 last year to £200,000 this year, while Edinburgh International Film Festival’s grant will increase from £60,000 last year, when it was relaunched under new leadership, to £193,000.

The Edinburgh International Festival will receive £100,000, up from £80,000 last year, and the Fringe Society will get £670,000 for its Made in Scotland showcase, an increase from the £540,000 it received in 2024.

Meanwhile, Celtic Connections in Glasgow will be handed £154,000, up from £100,000 last year, and Edinburgh Art Festival’s money will rise from £110,000 last year to £200,000. Art festival Glasgow International will receive £130,000, up from £70,000 last year, while the Scottish International Storytelling Festival will see its funds double from £100,000 last year to £200,000.

An open letter published by Mr Robertson in May said “early action within the programme” of the steering group would be “likely to include ... building upon the success of the current Scottish Government Expo Fund”.

The Edinburgh International Book Festival is to see its contribution rise from £105,000 last year to £200,000 this year.

Announcing the funding today, Mr Robertson said: “Scotland’s festivals are our cultural shopfront to the rest of the world. As well as offering performers and creatives an unrivalled international platform, they also deliver an annual economic uplift to businesses, jobs and livelihoods right across the country.

“This year’s funding increase for the existing Expo festivals cohort represents an increase of £1m across the 14 festivals in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the first in ten years. It recognises the success of festivals in shaping and supporting hundreds of commissions, enhancing the ambitions of thousands of Scottish artists and attracting audiences in the millions for Expo supported work since the fund’s creation in 2007.”

Culture secretary Angus Robertson. | Getty Images

Mr Robertson added: “From this foundation, we will expand the reach of the Expo fund across the whole of Scotland, and I am working with festivals across the country through the Strategic Festivals Partnership to realise this commitment.”

The Expo fund, established in 2007, is designed to support festival innovation and maximise national and international opportunities for the artists contributing to the festivals. It is managed by Creative Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

A ministerial statement by Mr Robertson in the wake of Finance Secretary Shona Robison’s Budget announcement in January, which included a £34m package for the arts and culture sector, announced the Festivals Expo fund would “more than double in value and expand its reach beyond Edinburgh and Glasgow”.

A timescale was not set, but it is believed many festivals had expected the expansion would come at the same time as any increase to the funding pot itself.

Dana MacLeod, executive director of arts, communities and inclusion at Creative Scotland, said: “The Expo Fund enables Scotland’s festivals to commission bold ideas, develop creative collaborations and present high-quality programmes for audiences in Scotland and internationally.”

Separately, Festivals Edinburgh will also receive £200,000 via Creative Scotland to support its branding and marketing work to promote the Edinburgh festivals.

Lori Anderson, director of Festivals Edinburgh, said: “Today’s announcement is welcome news for our festivals and for Scotland’s cultural sector, ensuring that the guiding principle of the Scottish Government’s Festivals Expo Fund – to showcase Scottish talent to the world on the country’s premier festival platforms – continues to successfully support creative careers.”