Grounds of George Heriot's to be BBC hub for Edinburgh Festivals
The new BBC venue in Edinburgh’s Old Town - which replaces Potterrow - will launch on Friday 5 August, the opening day of the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It will run throughout August, playing host to live and recorded TV, radio and digital programmes and content.
Published: 19 May 2016
We’re looking forward to creating a new BBC hub in such a beautiful setting and bringing our biggest and most extraordinary cultural festival to a wide audience in Edinburgh and at home
The heart of the site will be the big blue Theatre Tent and there will be innovative production facilities for teams from across the BBC. The School enjoys what must be one of the most impressive locations in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle and this will provide a stunning backdrop for a rich and varied programme of BBC events across the month.
Broadcast highlights include the BBC Radio New Comedy Award, which will hold its Semi Finals and live Final in August in Edinburgh for the first time, along with well-loved Radio 4 shows such as Just a Minute, Loose Ends and Front Row and Radio Scotland’s popular Janice Forsyth programme.
The School is ideally located on Lauriston Place and at the top of Middle Meadow Walk. Sitting in between the popular areas of The Meadows, Bristo Square, Tollcross and the Grassmarket, the School’s East Lawn will lend itself to one secure event area for the BBC infrastructure.
BBC Scotland’s Head of Programmes and Services, Donalda MacKinnon, thanked the University of Edinburgh for hosting the BBC since 2011, and looked ahead to the great opportunities the site at George Heriot's School offers for both audiences and production teams.
“Due to planned building works at Potterrow, the BBC is on the move after five successful years at the University of Edinburgh site. We are grateful to the University and all our neighbours at Potterrow for their support during this period. The Edinburgh Festivals are always one of the highlights of my year and I’m thrilled that George Heriot's School has offered to host the BBC this August. We’re looking forward to creating a new BBC hub in such a beautiful setting and bringing our biggest and most extraordinary cultural festival to a wide audience in Edinburgh and at home.”
Cameron Wyllie, Principal, George Heriot's School, is pleased to be offering the BBC a home within the historic site this summer.
“George Heriot's School is delighted to be providing a new base for the BBC this August. This is the first time we have undertaken a Festivals partnership of this scale and we are looking forward to opening our grounds to visitors and playing host to a wide range of BBC production teams and Festivals talent.”
In addition, BBC Radio 3 will again be broadcasting a number of Edinburgh International Festival recitals from The Queen’s Hall and concerts from the Usher Hall. BBC Arts Online return with their Artists Conversations strand which will see Deborah Bull interviewing world-class artists from the International Festival programme, and BBC Two’s Artsnight takes on its Edinburgh Nights mantle for a series of shows which will be recorded across the city.
Notes to Editors
- The BBC at the Edinburgh Festivals is a pan-BBC project overseeing the BBC’s wide-ranging coverage of the August Edinburgh Festivals. From 2011-2015 the BBC’s activity was focused around a purpose-built audience facing BBC hub at Potterrow, which saw 134,000 visitors last year alone.
- George Heriot's School is located on Lauriston Place in Edinburgh, EH3 9EQ. For 350 years the School has served as one of Scotland’s most distinguished schools. Today, it flourishes as an independent co-educational day school. Children between three and 18, from in and around Edinburgh, form a vibrant school community. Together with staff, parents, governors, alumni, and friends, Heriot’s pupils hold true to the vision of Founder George Heriot.
JG
