Making Festivals Happen

The Making Festivals Happen event series is a collaborative initiative between Creative Edinburgh and Festivals Edinburgh, established as part of Creative Scotland’s Place Programme. Since its launch in 2022, the series has been a vital platform for connecting Edinburgh’s creative practitioners with festival teams. This ongoing partnership aims to foster collaboration between creative practitioners, community groups, and festival organisers to collectively support the 2030 Vision for a Resilient and Ambitious Festival City. Creative Edinburgh has played an active role in supporting the development of this vision by facilitating a better understanding of local perspectives, especially artists and freelance practitioners from among our members. The partnership is underpinned by the shared objective – ‘to connect people, inspire creative ideas, and bring places alive in concentrated moments of communal celebration – focused on combining the local, the global and the live.’

Thanks to Festivals Edinburgh, we have been able to offer sessions completely free of charge to over 500 registered attendees across five carefully curated events and discussions delivered between 2022 and 2025. Throughout this series, every one of Edinburgh's eleven major festivals has attended or contributed to the Making Festivals Happen event from Edinburgh Fringe to Edinburgh Storytelling Festival.

Attendees have not only gained insights into the inner workings of festivals but have also experienced the tangible impact of a more inclusive and collaborative cultural ecosystem:

Transparency and collaboration have also been recurring themes. The events have demystified festival operations, with attendees gaining practical insights into programming and recruitment processes. One participant described the series as a chance to uncover “great jobs and opportunities for insight.” This feedback highlights the series' success in opening doors for emerging creatives and bridging the gap between festival organisers and local practitioners.

The impact extended beyond knowledge-sharing to making meaningful connections. One attendee shared, “I enjoyed networking, meeting people, and went to a play today because I was able to get a free ticket from the event.” Stories like this emphasise how the series nurtures relationships that empower individuals and enrich the creative community.

Creative Edinburgh has cherished this important partnership with Festivals Edinburgh and we hope to continue our collaborative efforts in bridging the gap between Edinburgh's festivals and the local creative community.