HOLYROOD TO HOST BIGGER FESTIVAL OF POLITICS IN 2006 BY PUBLIC DEMAND

095/2005 | 20 October 2005

The Scottish Parliament’s Festival of Politics, the latest addition to Edinburgh’s summer festival programme, will return for a second year next summer at Holyrood, it has been announced.

The move follows strong demand for tickets in 2005 with shows averaging 80 per cent capacity, and public demand for events also to be held outwith normal working hours.

Next year, Holyrood will see an expanded four-day programme, up from three days, after proposals were agreed by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.

Nearly 3000 members of the public attended this year’s pilot run of the Festival of Politics, which was held at Holyrood between 24-26 August.

Participants included BBC broadcaster Andrew Marr, Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave, distinguished politicians Neil Kinnock and Shirley Williams, Professor Tom Devine from Edinburgh and Aberdeen Universities, Professor Ted Cowan from Glasgow University, traditional musician Brian McNeill and Rowena Arshad, the Equal Opportunities Commission's Scottish Commissioner.

Presiding Officer George Reid said:

“The first Festival of Politics provided a chance for members of the public and participants to engage with ideas here at Holyrood. It struck a note in a year when politics was at the heart of the Edinburgh festivals’ programme.

“After much praise from audiences and participants alike, it is right that the Festival of Politics should return next year, to allow more audiences the chance to interact with politics in this lively format and in a unique venue.”

The Festival’s programme bridged politics, media and the arts, and covered a wide range of political topics, including how the media reports politics, the advance of women, ethnic minorities, protest songs and human rights.

Engaging with the public

The Festival was successful in terms of engagement with the public. Sales of tickets for charged events and take up of tickets for free events was 80 per cent overall. The average ticket sale per session for charged events was 68 per cent.

Audience Feedback

Audience feedback, taken from over 800 completed survey forms was overwhelmingly positive, both in respect of how much the audience enjoyed the events and whether they thought events were good value for money. Ninety-six per cent of those surveyed said they would like to attend similar events again in the Parliament. 81% of attendees surveyed were resident in Scotland.

Four day programme for 2006

The SPCB has agreed to a four day Festival of Politics in 2006, including evenings and a Saturday to respond to demands to make events more accessible and to maximise audience numbers. An additional day is also expected to allow many of the external organisations who wanted to participate in 2005 to do so. The second Festival of Politics will run from Wednesday 23 to Saturday 26 August 2006.

Details of performers and shows will be announced in 2006.

For more information about this year’s Festival of Politics, visit http://www.festivalofpolitics.org.uk.

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