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.
Read more
5. By the book
A visitor sits in Castle Terrace reading the Edinburgh International Festival guide book in August 1966. The sign behind him reads 'Site of the New Royal Lyceum Theatre'. Photo: Ian Brand
6. Strike a pose
Ernest Thesiger, Robert Eddison, Clare Austin & Robert Speaight from The Edinburgh International Festival group production of The Hidden King at the Assembly Hall in 1957. The verse drama received such scathing reviews that a public forum was held Photo: Unknown
7. Signing up
Stanley Baxter and Sir Compton MacKenzie join the International Festival Guild at the kiosk beside RSA Galleries in 1961. Photo: Unknown
8. Take a bow
The curtain call for the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas production of Ines de Castro at Edinburgh's Empire Theatre in 1952 as part of the International Festival. Photo: Unknown