Community Connections

We seek to share the joy of connecting with live performance, bringing together people and communities to celebrate individual and collective creativity.

To do this, we build connections beyond the stage between Artists and local communities across Edinburgh.

The vibrant communities of Edinburgh are the creative heart of these opportunities, whether that be through being part of a large-scale participation celebration or sharing a community meal with Festival artists. Our Community Connections partners’ collective insight, ideas and ambitions help us shape our overarching vision.

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NHS Festival Friday
© Credit : Mihaela Bodlovic

Festival Fridays at Broomhouse
© Credit : Jess Shurte

Community Connections Hub

In 2024, Space @ The Broomhouse Hub became the International Festival’s inaugural Community Connections Hub.

Designed to enable long-term connections between the Festival and local communities, the Community Connections Hub residency is shaped by the voices of community members.

Together, we have created courses which build workplace skills, delivered Dementia friendly workshops and co-designed creative projects responding to the Festival programme, platforming the creativity of the community alongside International Festival artists.

NHS Festival Sessions

We work with NHS Lothian Charity: Tonic Arts to bring the joy of the International Festival beyond the concert hall and into healthcare settings.

NHS Festival Sessions create pop-up performances with Festival artists in clinical and public spaces in NHS Lothian hospitals, year-round. Artists who have taken part in NHS Festival Sessions include Aurora Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker and Kinnaris Q.

The programme is designed to connect with those who may otherwise be unable to attend the festival, whilst celebrating the wellbeing benefits of connecting with live music.

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For many patients that was the highlight of their week...Some shared tears of joy or nostalgia, praising the artists long after they were gone, and recounting the experience to family and friends who visit.
Therapeutic Activities Manager at the Western General Hospital (2024)

Culture Clubs

Culture Clubs connect communities to each other and to the world through shared cultural experience.

Centred around a community meal, communities either welcome Festival Artists to their spaces to perform or travel to see an International Festival performance. Provided completely free of charge and tailored to meet the needs of each group, Culture Clubs promote access and meaningful personal connection to cultural experience.