City shoves £650k into festivals pot

Councillors have agreed to provide a £650,000 grant towards a new funding pot for Edinburgh’s festivals.

The festivals hope to generate £11.5 million over the next three years in order to help them raise their international profile during a period that will see other major events such as the Olympic Games in London and Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Creative Scotland and the city council are all being asked to plough in extra cash and the council has agreed to provide £650,000 over the three-year period.

Grants are likely to be paid in three instalments.

It is hoped that extra visitors will be lured from overseas on the back of interest in the events, as well as the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in 2014.

Creative Scotland, the government’s arts agency has pledged £500,000, and it is hoped that the lion’s share of the funding pot will be provided by the Scottish Government, although it has not yet provided a firm commitment.