Taking place (almost) every August, the Edinburgh International Festival is a celebration of culture that sees notable artists from the world of music and performing arts invited to showcase their work in the Scottish Capital.
The first event, then called the 'International Festival of Music and Drama' took place in 1947, with Austrian-born impresario Rudolf Bing acting as festival director and head of programming.
It featured orchestral, choral and chamber music, Lieder and song, opera, ballet, drama, film, and Scottish 'piping and dancing' on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.
It has taken place every year since, other than 2020 when it was completely cancelled due to the global pandemic.
The original idea for the Festival was to enrich cultural life following the Second World War, and it was first financed by £10,000 in winning that Lord Rosebery made from his horse Ocean Swell - a sum that was matched by Edinburgh Town Council.
Since then it has grown in strength, and is joined by a number of other festivals during August, including the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival and, most notably, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Here are 18 pictures to take you back to the events held over half a century ago.
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1. Choral performance
Members of the Newhaven Fisher Lassies Choir (among others) take part in Edinburgh International Festival society production Hail Caledonia! in the Assembly Hall, in August 1954. Photo: Unknown
2. Waiting crowd
A crowd of several hundred line the High Street from the City Chambers to St Giles Cathedral to watch the traditional procession to mark the opening of the Edinburgh International Festival in 1962. Photo: TSPL
3. Watch the birdie
David Kincaid and Jean Taylor Smith in The Royal Lyceum Theatre Company's The Burdies in 1966. Photo: TSPL
4. Ticket applications
Staff at the Edinburgh International Festival office deal with the Festival mail in Cambridge Street in 1966. Photo: Alan Ledgerwood