Hands across Atlantic for a festival study

A PARTNERSHIP between an Edinburgh university and a US university has created Scotland's first international festivals' study tour for undergraduate students.

Events specialists from Queen Margaret University and a theatre professional from St Edward's University in Austin, Texas, have developed the International Festivals' Experience Study Tour.

The new venture has brought undergraduate US business and theatre students to the Capital to experience the theatre culture.

Director of the centre for the study of planned events at Queen Margaret University, Professor Joe Goldblatt, is leading the project on the UK side. He said: "The American students are based at Queen Margaret University for a month and will experience the Mela, Book Festival and Fringe, as well as the Edinburgh International Festival.

"We hope to develop a programme that will allow QMA students to visit Austin, Texas, where they can experience South By Southwest, one of the world's most significant music festivals."