Edinburgh Festival Fireworks 2022: why is Edinburgh Castle display cancelled this year - when does Fringe end?

Edinburgh International Festival organisers have announced the annual fireworks show will not take place this year.

The show normally takes place to celebrate at the end of the festival and is known to be one of the biggest pyrotechnic shows on earth, attracting more than 250,000 spectators each year.

But why has this year’s event been cancelled, and what have organisers said about the show?

Here’s everything you need to know.

Why has Edinburgh Festival fireworks been cancelled?

The 2022 display has been cancelled, after the 2020 and 2021 editions were scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Organisers have confirmed the pandemic and the organisational timeline for the event stopped them from holding the fireworks show this year.

A spokeswoman for the Edinburgh International Festival said: “We won’t be staging the fireworks this year due to planning times coming out of the pandemic.”

At the time when organisers were required to plan the festival, the remnants of Covid restrictions were still in place in Scotland.

As a result of this, they were unable to confirm that the fireworks event could take place if Covid restrictions were still to be in place in August 2022.

Is there an event in place of the fireworks?

Despite the disappointment the annual fireworks show will not be going ahead, Festival organisers have confirmed a seperate event will be taking place in lieu of this.

A “large-scale free event in Princes Street Gardens” has been confirmed.

A live performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra will be performed at the Edinburgh Playhouse Theatre on Saturday 27 August.

This performce is set to be beamed live onto a big screen at the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens.

When do Edinburgh Festivals end?

The month of August is always a busy one for the city of Edinburgh.

The annual International Festival takes place throughout the month, with the separate Fringe Festival taking place at the same time.

This year’s International Festival began on 5 August and is set to end on 28 August.

The Fringe Festival, which also began on 5 August, will finish one day later on 29 August.