Britain’s Got Talent coming to Edinburgh

IT’s the biggest talent show in the country, and has uncovered stars including Diversity, George Sampson and our very own Susan Boyle.

And this year the auditions for Britain’s Got Talent will be even more exciting for fans in the Capital as the top talent show comes to Edinburgh for the first time.

Judges Simon Cowell, David Walliams, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon will all be taking their seats in the Festival Theatre to judge this year’s Scottish entries, while presenting duo Ant and Dec will also be in attendance.

The auditions will take place on February 11, with tickets for the free event available from Monday.

The decision to switch the location of the Scottish auditions is a major coup for the Festival Theatre, which holds more than 1900 people.

A spokeswoman for the Festival Theatre said: “We’re delighted that Britain’s Got Talent has chosen the Festival Theatre as a venue for the 2012 auditions.

“The theatre is the perfect location to showcase Scotland’s talent.

“With the biggest stage in the country and over 1900 seats, it’s going to be a fantastic event for everyone involved.”

Having the auditions take place in the Capital is also an important development for the city as a whole, which already stages its very own popular talent contest – Edinburgh’s Got Talent – which is run by the Evening News in association with Radio Forth and the Playhouse. This year, Britain’s Got Talent is following in the footsteps of Edinburgh’s contest by allowing entrants to upload their auditions online so members of the public can vote for them.

More than 15,000 votes flooded into the Evening News HQ last year following the announcement of the lucky acts who had made it through to the Top 40 of the competition.

Judges decided to make it a Top 11, rather than a Top Ten, of competitors in the final after two acts, Caitlyn Vanbeck – who went on to win the 2011 competition – and Ross Arthur, were tied in tenth position with 1593 votes each.

As of yesterday, contestants could upload videos of their act on to the Britain’s Got Talent YouTube channel.

Liam Rudden, Evening News arts and entertainment editor, said: “Securing the Scottish auditions of Britain’s Got Talent, which until now have always been held in Glasgow, is a massive coup for the Festival Theatre.

“Of course, Edinburgh is no stranger to talent shows as our own Edinburgh’s Got Talent has proved and I’m sure there will be a massive response.

“The judges might even discover another Susan Boyle.

“2012 certainly looks like being a very exciting time for anyone with talent in the city, what with Britain’s Got Talent holding their auditions here next month and a second bite at the cherry for hopefuls in August when the Evening News launch the fourth Edinburgh’s Got Talent star search.”

Tickets for the Festival Theatre auditions will be available at www.applausestore.com on Monday.