The founders of the Festival believed that the Festival programmes should be of the highest possible artistic standard presented by the best artists in the world, that the Festival should enliven and enrich the cultural life of Europe, Britain and Scotland and that it should provide a period of flowering of the human spirit.

The Edinburgh International Festival has developed significantly over the years, yet the founders' original intentions are closely reflected in the current aims and objectives.

Each year during the summer months Edinburgh becomes the world's Festival City. It is the huge range and number of artistic events, performances and exhibitions happening throughout the city which makes Edinburgh unforgettable. It makes you feel that there is always something else happening around the corner which you are missing. There is and you are. This is inevitable, part of the joy of the Festival.

Since the late 1940s Edinburgh has become a hotspot for artistic talent beginning with the International Festival and the Fringe. The summer programme has grown with the Edinburgh Book Festival, the largest book festival in the world, the Edinburgh Film Festival, a world renowned showcase of cinematic talent and the Military Tattoo in the magnificent backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. The Jazz festival starting in late July and the Edinburgh Mela in the last days of August bookend a phenomenal six weeks of arts and culture in the city. Hogmanay is the world's most famous celebration of New Year, the Edinburgh Science festival is a springtime journey of discovery in its own right and the Children's Festival starts the summer with playful exuberance.