The empty Royal Mile of the pandemic could happen again if arts funding is not protected

In August 2020, at the peak of the Covid lockdown, I went for my daily walk and found myself in the middle of the Royal Mile. It was a beautiful summer’s day in Edinburgh, but it was a haunting experience: there was not another human being in sight. What should have been the bustling heart of the Fringe was dead and empty. 

This year, things were different. The Edinburgh Festivals and Fringe were in full swing, and the street thronged with comedians, actors, jugglers and tourists in their thousands. Edinburgh has once again reclaimed its spot as the cultural capital of the world: there is no place else to be in August. 

But it was a close run thing. Not just the pandemic and its lockdowns, but Brexit and a cost-of-living crisis (which is also a cost-of-putting-on-a-show crisis) have hit the creative sector. There was no guarantee things would bounce back - just as there is no certainty things will stay as they are. For years I’ve loved attending the Festivals and Fringe.

But this year, as the newly elected MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (the constituency that is home to most of the venues) I reflected on what their future contribution to our city would be as I waited between shows. 

The Festivals and the creative sector are critical to Edinburgh’s incredible potential. We have the capacity to make it to the top tier of truly global cities. Edinburgh has all the raw material a city needs to thrive in the twenty-first century. We are home to amazing universities, whose spinoffs in R&D make the city an incubator of new ideas, particularly in biotech, video games and fintech.

We have a strong financial services sector, as well as hosting Scotland’s legal system. We are perfectly placed for the energy transition, in which we could be a home to the advanced engineering and technology, given Scotland’s renewable potential lies on our doorstep.

And do not underestimate the importance of the fact the city is utterly beautiful, with stunning architecture in a walkable city, bolstered by an incredible hospitality and tourism sector. With these assets, Edinburgh could be thriving as a global city, like San Francisco or Shanghai. 

But what really sets Edinburgh apart from the rest is our cultural offering - particularly at its apogee in August during the Festivals and Fringe. Not just because culture enriches the soul, brings people together, or boosts tourism. But because it puts us on the global stage, setting us apart from our competitors and drawing in investment, people and their ideas. 

We cannot take that for granted. The empty Royal Mile of August 2020 could happen again. A city with as much potential as Edinburgh should have a serious plan for its cultural and creative sector. Has the Scottish Government been equal to the task?

No. The SNP government has been (if we want to put it generously) incoherent and insubstantial on this issue. In only nine months, between September 2023 and May 2024, the Scottish Government published ten strategies relating to culture. That is absurd. Meanwhile the recent crisis at Creative Scotland has thoroughly destabilised the creative sector, with pushback against the Scottish Government coming from unexpected quarters. And promises to give the sector more stability, with multi-year financial planning, have gone unmet year after year. 

This isn’t good enough. The cultural and creative sector are our jewels. But if we are not careful, they will slip through our fingers. Easily lost, they will take decades to regain. 

JPI

Let’s avoid that. Firstly, we need an honest review of arts funding. Other countries spend far more than Scotland does on arts and culture. But these are difficult financial times, so a realistic, clear-eyed assessment is needed. We need a hard-headed plan to grow investment in the sector, and some strategic vision of what we cannot afford to lose is needed. Funding cultural projects comes with a series of tipping points, where whole ecosystems of arts activity, freelancers and venues die off. 

Secondly, we need to treat the cultural sector with respect. That means giving it stability to plan on a longer-term basis. And an end to pointless Scottish Government strategy documents. Arts organisations are not there to serve to be backdrops for ministerial photo-ops, or forced to constantly justify their existence for funding. 

And thirdly, we need political vision and a realistic plan to achieve it. Brand Scotland has phenomenal power, and Edinburgh’s Festivals and Fringe are a powerhouse of it. They bring us global attention, and draw in investment and networks that supports a thriving cultural scene far beyond the month of August. 

Scotland’s capital city becomes the cultural capital of the world in August. It is our window on the world, as the city’s population trebles and even locals take in three shows a day. Edinburgh already has significant economic, financial and energy potential, but adding in our cultural status gives us a possible future that other cities would kill for. 

But as that empty Royal Mile showed me, nothing is guaranteed. We need a plan, otherwise our cultural jewels will slip through our fingers.

Chris Murray is the Scottish Labour MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh