Red carpet to be rolled out for Hollywood-themed Tynecastle concert

Film fans heading to the Hollywood-themed curtain-raiser to the Edinburgh International Festival at Tynecastler Park will get the chance to head down a red carpet - if they turn up in fancy dress.

Work is underway to transform Tynecastle Park into Edinburgh's answer to the Hollywood Bowl.

Iconic themes from Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Pink Panther, Superman and ET: The Extra Terrestrial will performed by the LA Philharmonic Orchestra at the free 15,000-capacity concert on Friday.

Work is underway on the pitch to create a stage replicating the Hollywood Bowl, where the “LA Phil” famously perform every summer.

Classic scores from Jaws, Jurassic Park, Casablance, Vertigo and Sunset Boulevard will also be performed on a stage taking up more than a third of the pitch at the Gorgie ground, which has never hosted an open-air concert before.

A 15,000-strong audience is expected at Friday's Hollywood-themed curtain-raiser for the Edinburgh International Festival.

Ann Budge, the owner of Heart of Midlothian Football Club, gave the green light for the ground to be used at the start of the Scottish football season after seeing the orchestra in action on its home turf.

A specially-created red carpet arena, which will operate for around half an hour from 6.20pm on Friday, will be open to anyone in a film-related costume.

School and community groups who have been allocated some of the free tickets are already expected to head down the 20-metre long red carpet.

Caroline Donald, the EIF’s head of learning and engagement, said: “The red carpet taps into the Hollywood glamor of the ‘golden age of cinema’ and allows us to have our own Hollywood Bowl experience, right here in Edinburgh.”

Callum Howie and John Robb are overseeing the Edinburgh International Festival's preparations for the Tynecastle Park concert.

John Robb, head of technical at the EIF, said: “The club has been absolutely fantastic in letting this concert happen.

"We’re working very hard with them to ensure the pitch is in as as good as possible for the first game afterwards.

“We’ve put aluminium protection, which is a bit like an artificial runway, down on the part of the pitch where the stage is going to be and there will be a plastic coating on the rest of the pitch where around 5000 people will be sitting on Friday night.

"We’ve tried hard to design a stage that will emulate the look of the Hollywood Bowl.”