Flowering Of The Human Spirit: Edinburgh Without Its Festivals Claire Stewart

Signing off this no-festival beat with a review of where things are at in Edinburgh at this moment in time. Thanks to everyone who has joined me on this little diversion throughout August. This podcast will be available to listen to for another week and then no more... So if you're planning to listen, get on the case. All the best folks! Stay safe out there!

Are the Edinburgh Festivals are taking Edinburgh for granted? Are the people of Edinburgh taking the festivals for granted? How can we solve this?

Silent Disco - the disruptor of streets and the pusher of the limits of the very fabric of society. If that sounds dramatic, tune in to find out what the hell I'm on about. Also featuring bonus content of me being mooned by a hairy monk and why I think the announcement that the 'Winter Festivals' in Edinburgh this year are a sign that the much touted positive changes for the future of festivals are not the right ones. If you're wondering why this episode is out of sequence, is because it repeatedly wouldn't upload, the curse of Silent Disco perhaps?

Thinking about how my own life has been different over this month from other Augusts, the time to be creative and all the random visitors I haven't had.

I'm wondering what's going to be happening with students in the near future and thinking about mental health, the need to invest in it both as a society and as a festival city.

In today's episode I'm looking at what I feel is the fundamental sticking point for festivals going ahead in future - our lives have changed in Edinburgh and so have our attitudes. Are festivals looking beyond the goal of having the global competitive edge over other festivals? And can the citizens of Edinburgh be the ones with the exciting positive vision for a change?