Bob Geldof and Rory Stewart to headline Scottish festival - here is where you can see them

Boomtown Rats star Bob Geldof, electronica band Air and politician Rory Stewart are to headline a summer festival on the Scottish coast.

The first tickets have been released for the 17th Fringe By The Sea event, which takes place in North Berwick, in East Lothian, in August - alongside the main Edinburgh Fringe.

Bob Geldof's band, The Boomtown Rats, will be among the line-up for this year's festival. | Fringe By The Sea

Air is to perform the only Scottish date of its tour of Moon Safari live at the festival. Architect, writer, TV presenter, broadcaster and campaigner George Clarke, presenter of Amazing Spaces, will also speak at the event.

Geldof will perform with the Boomtown Rats, in the year that marks the 40th anniversary of the Live Aid concert where the band performed to raise money to help relieve famine in Africa.

Meanwhile, Scottish Indie New Wave band The Bluebells, which formed in 1981, is also part of the line up. Air, whose first album, Moon Safari, was released in 1998 to critical acclaim with the single Sexy Boy featured in the film 10 Things I Hate About You, is to take to the stage on August 2.

Rory Stewart will speak at the festival. | Fringe By The Sea

Mr Stewart, a Conservative MP for Penrith and The Borders between 2010 and 2019 and former secretary of state for several government departments, will be talking about his life, on August 3. The talk will include covering a two-year walk across Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Nepal, about which he wrote The Places in Between. Since 2022, Mr Stewart and former government spin doctor, Alastair Campbell, have co-presented their podcast The Rest Is Politics.

Mr Clarke, who is founder of the Home Educational Charity MOBIE (Ministry of Building Innovation + Education), is to speak about the concept of “home” and how it embodies the possibility to a more inclusive approach to good architectural practice. .

He said: “Home is the most powerful form of architecture that affects us all, and if you are lucky enough to have a warm and comfortable roof over your head, it is a very special place indeed.”

Festival director Rory Steel said: “As we start to roll out the first acts for the 17th Fringe By The Sea, we are already bringing together a programme which, in the true spirit of a fringe and a celebration of the arts, offers up something for everyone.

“We're working hard to top last year and with what's set to be a stratospheric performance by Air and guests including the best-selling author Rory Stewart, we are on our way. Look out for more events being announced over the next few months with the full programme available in June.”

Last year, Mr Steel hit out at the “dire” levels of red tape faced by event organisers trying to secure vital backing.

According to an Economic Impact Report conducted by MKA Economics for Fringe by the Sea 2024, the festival’s visitor spending has contributed an additional £9.9 million to the local economy - a 36 per cent increase over the 2023 figure.

Fringe by the Sea 2025 will run in North Berwick from August 1 to 10.