 The next item of business is a debate on motion 6073 in the name of Fiona Hyslop, on recognising and celebrating Edinburgh's international festivals in their 70th anniversary year. Can I invite those members who wish to speak in the debate to press their request to seek buttons now? I call on Fiona Hyslop to speak to and move the motion. Ten minutes please, cabinet secretary. Presiding Officer, I move the motion in my name and I'm delighted to open this debate to recognise and celebrate Edinburgh's international festivals in their 70th year. In 1947, conductor Rudolph Bing co-founded the festival with Henry Harvey Wood, head of the British Council and Sydney Newman, professor of music at Edinburgh University, along with civic leaders, most notably Sir John Faulkner, who spoke of his ambition that the festival should provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit. In the aftermath of the devastation brought about by World War 2, arts and culture were seen as a pivotal means to reimagine a new and better world. Bing's vision to establish a festival programme of an ambitious and varied character and, above all, being a city that would embrace the opportunity to make the festival a major preoccupation, not just with the city chambers but in the heart and home of citizens. How prophetic his words were. The impact of the first festival resonated across the city and around the world, enabling Edinburgh to become the world's leading festival city and a catalyst for the formation of Edinburgh's family of festivals. 1947 was the founding year of the film and fringe festivals. Alongside the international festival, a programme of documentaries was presented by the Edinburgh Film Guild. The Edinburgh International Film Festival is now the world's oldest continually running film festival. It bursts into life next week, exploring identity in the context of our shifting political and cultural changes, showcasing 151 features from 46 countries and expanding into other arts venues in the city. Eight theatre companies arrived in Edinburgh and could not participate in the Edinburgh festival back in 1947, so they sought out smaller alternative venues for their productions. The fringe was born and is now the world's largest art festival. This year, featuring nearly 3,400 shows in 300 venues with 62 countries represented. An open access festival where no one is denied entry, making it the largest platform on earth for artistic freedom. Ten years ago, the Edinburgh festival was created to act as a strategic organisation to focus on overarching areas of mutual interest. Its sole focus is to maintain the festival's global competitive edge. I applaud how well it has been done. It supports the festivals from behind the scenes, all the partners, the agents, the artists, the producers, the politicians that descend into the city. I am particularly impressed by the Edinburgh festival's momentum programme, which brings international delegations to view work, to share knowledge and to deepen relationships. In 2007, former MSP Kenny MacAskill and I, as Lothian MSPs, recognised the need to provide more support and opportunity for Scotland's artists at the Edinburgh festivals. From a 2007 manifesto commitment, the festival's expo fund was born to promote the creation of new work and international appreciation of work from Scotland. Since 2008, the Scottish Government's expo fund has provided £19 million to members of the Edinburgh festival. It is pivotal in supporting the best of our cultural heritage, showcasing contemporary innovation and generating ambitious collaborations. It has enabled the creation of a legacy of important new work, which promotes and maximises the opportunities for the best of Scotland's artists on an international platform. It has built innovation across the festivals, raises the international profile and exposure of our creativity. The expo funding that was made in Scotland has enabled 159 companies, ensembles and artists to showcase their work, with a further 57 productions touring across five continents visiting over 20 countries. The James plays, which many of you may have seen, was presented at the International Festival in 2015, touring Adelaide, Auckland, Canada and across the UK, receiving critical acclaim winning the evening's standard award in 2016. The fund has enabled the film festival to nurture and develop new talent in the sector through talent lab. Every one of our Edinburgh international festivals have received funding to develop and enhance their unique programmes and support artists working in Scotland. This year, the Scottish Government provided an additional £300,000 of extra funding to celebrate the 70th anniversary through three remarkable and unique pieces of work. The 70th year was launched with a spectacular midnight moment as part of Edinburgh's Hogmanay, supported by £90,000 from Expo, and it drew the eyes of the world to this momentous occasion. The Scottish Government supports World Fringe Day on 11 July, which recognises the importance of all the fringes across the world. 2017 is not just the 70th anniversary of the Edinburgh festival fringe, it is the anniversary of the whole fringe concept, and 1947 was the catalyst to ignite a global network of fringes with more than 200 across the world today. Fringe festivals transcend national boundaries, create networks, collaborations, friendships, debates and discussions. The Scottish Government second supported international festival celebration event illustrates the concept of the flourishing of the human spirit that I referred to earlier through Bloom, a complex and strikingly beautiful nightgarden that is brought to life through illuminations and 3D mapping. The third project is currently being developed by the Edinburgh film science and children's festivals, and that will be announced at a later date. In reference to the Conservative amendment, the Scottish Government has been a strong supporter and fully engaged in the development of the proposed impact performance venue since my initial conversations back in 2013, when I met with the donors and the Royal Bank of Scotland. We saw great value in the proposal and I took the subsequent decision to fund the initial feasibility study conducted by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Since then, we have been in discussion with partners involved in the Edinburgh and South East Scotland city region deal to secure their support for the venue. I am pleased that the negotiations have progressed to this stage, with the UK Government now confirming its support. The project will secure a critical new performance venue in the centre of Edinburgh, provide a home for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and be used exclusively for festival performances in August. The economic and cultural inclusion benefits of such a venue will be felt widely across Edinburgh and its surrounding regions, and to reach out across Scotland to build new audiences to embrace a variety of musical genres. In the face of increasing national and international competition, the support will optimise Edinburgh's position as an international festival city and Scotland's reputation as a leading centre for music and the performing arts, and it will be truly transformational for a wide range of communities in terms of reach, innovation, quality and impact. I welcome the spirit of the amendment and look forward to concluding the city deal details with the UK Government when they are ready to restart discussions. Of course, the festivals have many funders and partners, including Creative Scotland, Event Scotland, Visit Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council and the British Council, Trusts, Foundations, Public and Private Philanthropists and Audiences from Edinburgh and beyond, and this collectively enables our festivals to be the best in the world. The economic contribution of the festival was underlined in the 2015 Edinburgh Festival's impact study, in which the festival recognises a world-leading brand that reports audiences of a staggering £4.5 million. That is on a par with a FIFA World Cup and only second to the Olympics. The festivals act as an economic powerhouse and they generate an economic impact of £280 million in Edinburgh and £313 million in Scotland in total. Yesterday, I saw the launch of The Spirit of 47, which is in the international festival. It is curated with the British Council. It presents a rich global programme to examine the way culture connects us across borders and divisions and perhaps Lewis MacDonald in moving his amendment will reflect on this aspect. The new European Songbook project brings together respected European musicians with non-EU artists who have made their home in Europe during the recent wave of migration. The festivals support the seamless flow of artists from Europe and other nations to ensure that Edinburgh can maintain its international position. We will have to work hard to ensure that the festivals are not debilitated or disadvantaged by Brexit. The festivals support our thriving and fast-growing cultural sector in Scotland, which relies on the creative people building skills, expertise and knowledge through exchange and dialogue with others. Access to ideas, talent, experiences and creative exchanges, which freedom of movement provides, is essential to enable all our industries to flourish and thrive, including, importantly, our festivals. That must be part of the reconsidered Brexit by the UK Government. The festivals are distinctly Scottish yet profoundly international, drawing artists, audiences and media from every continent with more than 70 countries attending each year. Edinburgh's festivals define and promote Scotland's identity as a confident, creative and welcoming nation. They support our international outlook by providing cultural platforms forums for national and international debate. Last year, the Scottish Government engaged with representatives from 27 nations during August. Individual countries choose Edinburgh to host their own showcases, and this year we will welcome Canada, South Australia, Ireland, India and many more. The festivals' challenges enable us all to step out of our own lives, to experience something new and unique. They bring people together to germinate new ideas. They help us to understand other cultures and other experiences. They celebrate human expression in all its guises of sorrow, laughter, joy and beauty. In closing, I urge Parliament to come together to recognise the outstanding contribution of the Edinburgh international festivals and what they contribute to Scotland and the world, and pay tribute to the passion, commitment and talent of all the artists and audiences that have contributed to a remarkable 70 years. Thank you very much. I now call Gordon Lindhurst to speak to and move amendment 6073.1, a very flexible seven minutes, Mr Lindhurst. I am obliged, Deputy Presiding Officer. As an MSP representing the Lothian region, it gives me great pleasure to be opening this debate today for the Scottish Conservatives. Today we recognise the extraordinary success of Edinburgh's international festivals in their 70th year. The festivals have gone from strength to strength, with growing numbers of visitors attracted to Edinburgh each summer and an ever-increasing number of festivals. The city of Edinburgh and indeed Scotland has shown that Rudolf Bing, the man who was originally credited with bringing the festival to the city in 1947, knew what he was doing. Even he might have been surprised to see how many events now take place every year. In just a few weeks, Edinburgh will take the lead in celebrating the international success of the festivals with World Fringe Day on 11 July. Over 200 open access events will take place in cities from Edinburgh to as far afield as Australia, reflecting not only on how successful Edinburgh has been as an international festival leader but how popular the appeal of the fringe model now is across the globe. Another year of events will then begin with the international festival itself, the fringe festival, film festival, jazz and book festivals, to name but a few. Not to forget what is often seen as the real jewel in the crown at Edinburgh Castle itself, the Edinburgh military tattoo. This is an extremely popular event, which has been attended by many of the people of Edinburgh and which I myself have attended on occasions. As I and others are aware, obtaining tickets can be quite an art in itself, and that for an event that has been running since 1950. Any member in the chamber who has yet to experience the thrill of the tattoo is well advised to do so but to buy your tickets early. Deputy Presiding Officer, as a resident of Edinburgh who works, as we all do here, at the foot of Scotland's Royal Mile, I will not be the only one to have to struggle to walk to the top of the high street during July and August. However, as an advocate working in the courts behind St Giles Cathedral, I had many years of even more direct experience of this. I well remember a colleague of mine who shall remain nameless. Having been pursued down the high street by a street artist waving a pair of underpants shouting after him, sir, you've forgotten your briefs and, as you will know, briefs are the name for councils' instructions from solicitors, so we were all highly amused at that. That incident was perhaps only bettered by hordes of teenage girls pursuing a number of junior advocates, dressed as they were in morning dress, in various directions from the corner of St Giles Cathedral. As we found out, the occasion was the rumour that Robbie Williams had purchased a flat in the newly refurbished former corner court building behind St Giles. The girls mistook various advocates for Robbie Williams Butler, whom they pursued in the hope of meeting Robbie himself until they realised in utter disappointment that there were too many of us for that to be true. So comedy indeed provided in real time. However, the people of Edinburgh take great pride in welcoming all who come to experience our comedy, real life or otherwise. Whatever the apparent inconveniences, 89 per cent of local people who attend the festivals acknowledge that the yearly event increases people's pride in their own city. It is quite staggering that in 2015 there were over four and a half million attendees bringing a value of some £280 million for our economy in Edinburgh and £313 million for Scotland as a whole. Both of those were substantial increases on the figures recorded five years earlier in 2010. May I also acknowledge the role that the 25,000 or so performers and entertainers play in making the Edinburgh international festivals what they are? While we very often think of the household names that grace the stage of the Edinburgh international conference centre with sold-out gigs evening by evening, we should also congratulate others who may not benefit financially in the same way from the festivals but who nevertheless come to Edinburgh to do what they do best. They perform in the melting pot of the good, the bad and we must admit it sometimes ugly shows amongst the festival. Some spend literally thousands of pounds of their own money, much of which may never be recouped on travelling to Edinburgh, hiring out venues and putting on their show. Without them, we would not be here today, speaking about the success of the Edinburgh international festivals. Edinburgh is an important gateway to our country and the Edinburgh festivals 2015 impact study, published obviously last year, showed us that visitors to the festivals are now spending more nights elsewhere in Scotland out with Edinburgh than they were five years ago. Deputy Presiding Officer, despite the political and economic challenges facing our country, figures for festival attendance has remained buoyant, with fringe ticket sales up by over 7 per cent in 2016. Meanwhile, overseas tourists to Scotland continue to rise at ever-increasing rates. We saw a 6 per cent increase in overseas tourist numbers, accompanied by a 9 per cent increase in tourist spending last year alone. Much of that increase was down to North American tourists, showing that Edinburgh and wider Scotland as destinations matter more than distance or other factors in a tourist decision on where to travel. It is to be welcomed that both the Scottish and UK Governments continue to support Edinburgh and its festivals. As we celebrate this 70th anniversary, I am pleased that the Scottish Government has provided additional funds. Support for the development of the new Edinburgh concert hall through the proposed Edinburgh city deal already referred to with UK Government support will hopefully not only reinforce Edinburgh's role as a world-leading festival city but will be a leading centre for music and the performing arts. The proposed hall will continue to draw eminent musicians, actors and other performers from across the globe into the city throughout the year, ensuring that Edinburgh, a city with a great artistic tradition and heritage, maintains its continuous exchange of creative talent, not just in August, but for all 12 months of the year. I am pleased to say that the Scottish Conservatives will be supporting the Labour amendment in the name of Lewis MacDonald, which echoes those sentiments, as well as the Scottish Government's own motion. Deputy Presiding Officer, I look forward to today's debate and move the amendment in my name. I now call on Lewis MacDonald to speak to and move amendment 6073.2. A generous five minutes, please, Mr MacDonald. Thank you very much. Seventy years on, Presiding Officer, and there is indeed much to celebrate. The Edinburgh festivals have achieved truly global status, hundreds of venues providing a stage for thousands of artists, performing to a combined audience of hundreds of thousands and generating millions in benefits to the Scottish economy. Visitors and great numbers from around the United Kingdom, from Europe and around the world all contributing to Edinburgh as a world city and putting Scotland firmly on the map for the whole range of performing arts and, as the cabinet secretary mentioned, for film as well. Any anniversary celebration should, of course, start with where things stood when this all began. The Edinburgh festivals were created as an act of policy, following one of the most traumatic episodes in human history. The Second World War, like the First, was hugely destructive of people and places. It also witnessed an all-out assault on the shared values of human civilisation. It witnessed systematic genocide and vast impoverishment, a time of darkness, austerity and division. Post-war Labour Government recognised the need to light beacons of hope in such a time. The creation of Edinburgh as an international festival city was one of the fruits of that policy, a policy that is shared by all in public life in Scotland at the time. The truth of which the festival symbolised was that the best answer to barbarism is to strengthen and celebrate civilisation, to meet destruction with creativity, to promote hope, compassion and unity against those who would spread hatred, division and fear. That is what makes these festivals truly world events, not just where people come from but also what the festivals themselves represent. And we know only too well that hatred, division and fear are stalking the world again today. The same terrorists who sponsored murder in London and Manchester have committed outrages around the world, not least in destroying the physical evidence of human civilisations in the Middle East. And just as the Edinburgh festivals lit a beacon of hope after the Second World War, so the great get-together this weekend will be a direct answer to the forces of hatred that killed Joe Cox a year ago, marking the anniversary of her death and making it an occasion to celebrate our shared civilisation and our shared values. The spirit of 47, then, is as important now as it was 70 years ago. I am looking forward to the 10-day festival within a festival later this year, which the cabinet secretary mentioned under the title Spirit of 47, featuring music and theatre, dance and debate around that internationalist and multicultural theme. Joining all of those art forms with debate and discussion goes to the heart of what Edinburgh festivals are about, and I am certain that the experience will be entertaining and inspiring and enlightening. The festivals have, of course, gone from success to success, perhaps succeeding even their founders' wildest dreams. The number of festivals has multiplied, the size of the audiences has grown and the impact has extended well beyond the city itself to benefit every area in Scotland. The scale of the festivals each and every year, as the cabinet secretary also said, puts them in the same league as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. Success, of course, always brings its own challenges, and success in this case means that the festivals now matter for more than simply their cultural excellence. They are also vitally important to the tourism sector and to the Scottish economy as a whole. That is why public funding is not just right and principle, it is in the public interest in our material sense, too. I welcome the Scottish Government's expo fund and the initiatives that it supports. I look forward to hearing more about the pop-up family festival, for example, which I know I will be visiting parts of Scotland later this year, but it is important to acknowledge that continuing public funding remains part of the recipe for success of the Edinburgh international festivals and must never be taken for granted. I looked again this week at thundering hooves to the 10-year strategy to sustain the success of Edinburgh's festivals, which was published in May 2015. That strategy was supported by all the main stakeholders in the festivals, local and national, including the Scottish Government, and its main findings still hold good today. It highlighted the risk to the festivals of cuts in local authority funding in particular, and it concluded that large-scale radical solutions are now needed to replace eroding public funding, and those must include potential alternative funding models, even if they present their own constraints. The festivals are not seeking in any way to live off public subsidies. The international festival, for example, grew its earned income from fundraising and ticket sales by 46 per cent between 2009 and 2016, at the same time as grant income went down by 4 per cent. The festivals are more than ready to help themselves, but what public funding enables the festivals to do is to plan ahead and to invest for future productions with some degree of certainty and without depending entirely on current cash flows for investment to grow their future audiences. I know that the cabinet secretary understands that point and I hope that from today she will continue to engage with all the festivals and with Edinburgh City Council in exploring potential funding solutions for the future. If that is done creatively and constructively, the next 70 years can be as productive and as exciting as the last. I move the amendment in my name. We now move to the open debate. Can I say to all members present that I have quite a bit of time in hand, so if members wish to wax lyrical, I am quite relaxed about that, and also to give extra time for interventions and a bit of discussion if members would feel that useful. I go to John McAlpine, who is pleased to be followed by Jeremy Balfour. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Edinburgh Festival's impact study points out that the 4.5 million combined audiences of the Edinburgh Festival put them on a par with the FIFA World Cup. In the interests of context, I thought of a comparison a little closer to home. The 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, widely acknowledged as a resounding success, was attended by 1.3 million people. Therefore, the Edinburgh Festival is the equivalent of having the Commonwealth Games in Scotland three times a year every year. It is quite right that we emphasise the economic benefits that the festival brings. It is worth £3.13 million for the Scottish economy as a whole. It is as well to remember, as others have pointed out, that it was born out of idealism and not a desire for pecuniary gain. The founder of the International Festival, Rudolf Bing, wanted to use the festival, as others have said, to build bridges across a world torn apart by war. He was an Austrian-born opera impresario who, being Jewish, had to flee his homeland in Germany to seek refuge in Britain—something that we should perhaps bear in mind, given some of the divisive language that is used today about refugees. If Sir Rudolf Bing had not found safety here, we may not be having this debate today, and our country would be so much poorer both culturally and financially. The first Edinburgh International Festival featured glin-born opera, the Halley Orchestra and Saddler's Wells ballet, reflecting the interests of Bing. Even in that first year, it was more than that, as the cabinet secretary has already mentioned, the Edinburgh film guild, decided to run a week-long film festival that developed into the international film festival. The Royal Scottish Academy extended its summer exhibition that year, meaning that visual art had a place at the festivals right from the start—something that has expanded of course in the years hence. Someone that that very year had the idea of getting some pipe bands to play on the Castle Explanade, and that event developed into the magnificent tattoo that officially began in 1950, as Gordon Lindhurst has already told us. Most important of all, however, is to remind ourselves that the festival fringe actually began in exactly the same year as the international festival and very much had its routes at home in the then vibrant Scottish amateur theatrical movement. Effectively, the theatre companies gate-crashed the party that year, and they included the left-of-centre Glasgow Unity Theatre, which viewed the official festival as Bourgeois. They wanted to connect it to the wider public in their two shows. That year were Gorky's The Lower Depths and Robert McClellan's The Laird or Torwot Letty. Other contributors to what was then called the adjunct to the festival were Edinburgh district community drama association, which stayed the anatomist by James Bridie at the Pleasons, and the Edinburgh People's Theatre, which put on Thunder Rock also at the Pleasons. It was a people's festival right from the very beginning. The term fringe appeared the following year in 1948. It was first used by Robert Kemp, a journalist and player who was the father of the late Arnold Kemp, who went on to edit the Glasgow Herald newspaper. The tensions between the fringe and the official festival are far less apparent these days, now that we have the very successful Umbrella Festivals Edinburgh organisation. It is fair to say that there was a long-running debate over many decades about accessibility versus excellence, indigenous versus international work. That debate had an energy about it that benefited both sides. The success of the expo programme that the cabinet secretary highlighted in her speeches is a very good example of that creative tension, giving birth to something that is really good and welcomed by all. Dr Angela Barthe of Edinburgh University explores this dynamic in her 2013 book, The Edinburgh Festivals. She notes that the numerous cultural wars around Edinburgh festivals, particularly in the 50s and 60s, reflected key debates about the place of arts in society during that period. That included debates about censorship, the role of culture as a weapon of enlightenment, whether it could be used for political purposes, plus the conflict between small sea, conservative and liberal, elite and diverse, and traditional and avant-garde. Those all clashed in Edinburgh each August, and it meant that Scotland was at the cutting edge of the big global intellectual arguments of the age. Today, as we celebrate their 70th birthdays, we must note that Edinburgh's festivals are still at the centre of international debate and the key challenges that face us today. One of the most thought-provoking submissions to the European tourism culture and external relations inquiry on Brexit came from the festival's Edinburgh organisation. Aside from the obvious financial implications, not least to programmes such as Creative Europe, it pointed out to the message that Brexit sent out. Its submission noted that it is vital that the countries of the EU and beyond continue to see Scotland as an open and outward-looking nation. To that end, I was particularly pleased to see that the 70th anniversary programme this year includes the spirit of 47, the co-creative programme marking the founding partnership, featuring artists from Scotland, England and the United States, Ukraine, Lebanon and Cuba all over the world. It is a very timely celebration of the depth and quality of international cultural collaboration. That was the spirit of 1947 that Rudolf Bing sought to nurture, and it should also be the spirit of 2017 and beyond. It is a great pleasure to take part in this debate this afternoon, not only as an MSP for the Lothian region, but as someone—probably a third speaker—who grew up in Edinburgh and went through the fringe of the festival as someone as a child. Perhaps with your forbearance, I will go down memory lane and share some of the few highlights that I had. I have to say that I was brought up in a family who were not culturally accessible. In fact, my father used to close his office for two weeks in August to get away from other people in Edinburgh. However, we managed to move beyond that slightly. I think that one of the great strengths of the festivals here in Edinburgh in August is the diversity that you can find within it. My colleague Gordon Lindhurst has already mentioned the tattoo. I remember just a few years ago, as a young boy, going to the tattoo and the excitement of going to see different people taking part. Perhaps the greatest excitement was right at the start of the tattoo, when the person introduced the tattoo used to say, where were you from? He would go round the world of not only the commonwealth countries but the global and the number of people from North America, Asia and Europe was always outstanding. That is one of the strengths of the whole festival, is that it brings people together from different cultures, different backgrounds, and together we can celebrate what is going on within the city. If we ever lose that international feel, the festival will be less good for it. However, you can go from a grand tattoo with bands playing with shows from across the world. You can then go to the church hall, to the small community centre, where you will see different performances taking place. My researcher informed me that last year she spent two hours and her words were brilliant life affirming, and what it was was medieval people chanting in Latin. The diversity is immense. You can have that to Gilbert and Sutherland or in one day. One of the things that we have slightly lost, and we need to look again, is how do we rent that out to the communities across Edinburgh and Lothian? A former councillor Eric Mergan, who was a former Lord Forrest here in Edinburgh, when he was Lord Forrest deliberately took some of the best-known acts into perhaps the most applied areas of the Lothians. Fiona Hyslop? Fionna Hyslop might be interested to know that I wrote to Eric Mergan to thank him particularly for his role with the festivals, and he has stood down as being a board member of the Blues and Jazz Festival, for which he was a great advocate. In terms of taking the festival out, is the member familiar with the work that the Edinburgh International Festival is doing particularly with Castle Bray High School? That is not just a one-off, it is a sustained relationship and that the festivals across the year engage with all 32 local authorities, but perhaps not everybody is aware of that outreach during the year. Jeremy Balfour? I thank the cabinet secretary for that. I was actually just going to go on and talk about the one example that we do have at the moment. I think that that just needs to be done a bit more, because often the schools in Edinburgh are back by the final two weeks of the festival taking place, and there would be opportunities. I think that it would be good for schools to deliberately put on times when children from both primary and secondary schools can go and see events, and we look at that and how we do that. I think that one of the great developments over the last few years had been the Brick Festival in Charlotte Square. Again, it is an opportunity to bring people from different backgrounds, political, historical and culturally, and to be able to meet them and talk to them. I know that, as someone who grew up in the city, the inspiration that I got from being able to listen to people who came from such different backgrounds, to talk about what they have done in their lives and how they have impacted their society. I conclude by saying that we have to look towards what is going to happen over the next few years. I was just elected a councillor in Edinburgh when the report of funding hoops was published and came to Edinburgh City Council and to other bodies. Clearly, we have something unique here, but other people want to steal it. Both people from other parts of the UK, other parts of Europe and other parts of the world. I think that we cannot be complacent just to think that, because it has always been here for all these years, it will continue to be. I hope that both the national government, the city council and others will seek to continue to fund what is going on. Lewis MacDonald was absolutely right. Others will play their part. People do pay to come here and use a lot of their money, but we need to make sure that we have the appropriate support in regard to that. I think that we can be very proud not only here in Edinburgh, but as a nation of what happens here in August. However, I have to confess that I still do look forward to the first week in September and a bit of peace and quiet on the Royal Mile. I call Gordon MacDonald, followed by Ben MacPherson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. As the cabinet secretary highlighted, Edinburgh festivals are the economic powerhouse of the tourism industry in Scotland. Starting with the Edinburgh International Science Festival in March, through to Edinburgh's Hugmanay, the economic impact was measured at £280 million in Edinburgh and £313 million across Scotland. The Edinburgh Festival 2015 impact study also found that 5,500 jobs were supported in Edinburgh and 6,500 jobs across Scotland by the 12 festivals that take place each year in the city. However, it is not just the economic benefit that the jobs bring to Edinburgh. Local people who took part in the survey agreed that the various festivals brought the community together and increased people's pride in the city. My constituency of Edinburgh Pentlands is closely associated with the military, as there are three army barracks located in the area. Therefore, I will focus on the contribution that the Edinburgh Military Tattoo makes to the economy of the city. The first tattoo took place in 1950, with the first overseas regiment to participate being the band of the Royal Netherland Grenadiers in 1952, and they were joined by performers from Canada and France. Since then—sorry, I am not wearing my usual glasses—they broke about five minutes ago—48 countries from across six continents have performed at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Over 14 million people have attended the tattoo since it started with the annual audience currently around 220,000 every August. The event is so popular that it has sold out for the last 18 consecutive years. However, many people get their first taste of the tattoo by watching television, resulting in a worldwide audience every year of 100 million people. My constituency has another direct connection with the tattoo, as every year it holds the rehearsals for the event on the parade ground of Redford barracks. It is at Redford that the close to 1,200 performers, 250 pipers along with the military bands, come together for the first time to practice and showcase their talents. The cavalry barracks also act as home for a large proportion of the military personnel taking part in the tattoo for the duration of its August run. An assessment of the economic impact of the tattoo alone put it at £77 million to the Scottish economy. As it is set up and run for charitable purposes, it also gifts around £8 million to service and civilian organisations. However, there is one issue that could impact on future tattoos in Edinburgh. That is the MOD's proposal to sell off both the Redford infantry and the cavalry barracks in Edinburgh by 2022. If the proposal goes ahead, where will the performers be accommodated? Where is there a large enough secure area—oops, I have lost my glasses again—that can carry out rehearsals with five other military sites also due to close, including Craigiehall in Glencourts, making a number of army units homeless, then finding a base for the tattoo could prove to be difficult. The 12 festivals that take part in the city each year are well established, but as a whole that they are viewed when people refer to Edinburgh as the world's leading festival city. By undermining the tattoo, the MOD could have an impact on the city's hard-won reputation and on the 4.5 million visitors that attend a festival each year, especially as many visitors state that the festivals are the sole or most important reason for visiting Scotland. The Edinburgh festival impact study found that 94 per cent of respondents were of the view that it is festivals that make the city special. We need to protect that, which makes Edinburgh a leading international destination. The MOD should think again about the future of Redford barracks. I am grateful for the chance to speak in this important debate, recognising the remarkable value and worldwide significance of Edinburgh's international festivals. Like others, I am incredibly proud to have grown up in Edinburgh, to live in this city now and to represent the vibrant and brilliant constituency of Edinburgh, Northern and Leith, here in the Scottish Parliament. Edinburgh is a truly outstanding city all year round, as Deutsche Bank recently surveyed it as the second best place in the world for quality of life. However, during August, when the Edinburgh Art Festival, Royal Military Tattoo, International Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Edinburgh International Book Festival and so much more are alive, this place is particularly incredible. The city almost doubles in size, the streets are filled with talent from around the globe and fun, curiosity, generosity of spirit and internationalism are all around. Last year, you could not have been in this great city and not seen the Edinburgh International Festival's inspiring welcome world campaign. Signs proclaiming those two words, welcome world, in large, bold, purposeful letters, were attached to buildings and lamp posts and bus shelters that were on programmes and leaflets and t-shirts. That campaign was in place before the result of the EU referendum. However, it felt particularly poignant and on the mark in Scotland's capital city last year. It made a powerful statement that could not be ignored. Running throughout August last year, the international festival alone welcomed 2,442 artists from 36 nations to Scotland's capital city. In venues, bars, restaurants and business meetings, amongst the good feeling, there were also worrying conversations between those artists, artists from Scotland, the wider UK and beyond, about how to keep the strength and diversity of the festival alive in the face of the Brexit challenge and its implications. Influential voices have raised concerns about possible barriers for audiences and performers coming to Edinburgh for our festivals, and it remains unclear on what travel arrangements the UK Government will pursue post Brexit. The UK Government can allay those fears and I genuinely hope in good faith that they will do that sooner rather than later, because we are now one year on. As I have said, the Edinburgh international festival Scotland welcomes the world campaign last year was not created as a result of the EU referendum, but instead to bring the festival's founding principles to the forefront and to emphasise and celebrate the spirit of the festivals. In 1947, the founders believed that the festival could reinvigorate and enrich the cultural life of Europe and Scotland and provide a platform for a flowering of human spirit, in their words, by bringing people and artists together from around the world. The vision was that that would generate significant cultural, social and economic benefits for Edinburgh and for the whole of Scotland and how visionary that ambition was, and how enriched Edinburgh and the whole of Scotland and beyond has been as a result. As others have said, as well as the cultural benefits of participating in and attending events in fields such as the arts, comedy, literature, film, music and science, there is also immense economic benefit from filling beds in our hotel rooms, to boosting our bars and restaurants and providing a vital source of income to wonderful venues across Edinburgh. The benefit that we gain from our festivals is huge. In 2015, the economic impact for Edinburgh was an estimated £280 million, and £313 million was generated for Scotland as a whole. This boosted support for jobs and businesses across a variety of sectors in our economy, from tourism to hospitality and more, and so we must all seek to protect and grow our festivals. Presiding Officer, we must not forget that it is people who make the festivals possible, not just the artists on stage, the curators and executives who work hard to produce their work, not just the fantastic venues and shows that we all see and the interesting talks that we enjoy, but also those on the ground supporting the day-to-day running of the festivals, the bartenders, the cleaners, the taxi drivers, hotel staff, police officers and more. We must also remember that a great number of the individuals showcasing their work more often than not are Scotland's emerging artists, performers, producers, directors and playwrights. Our festivals can be their gateway to the world and the launchpad for their talents and their careers. In closing, Presiding Officer, let me finish by thanking and congratulating everyone who has been involved in Edinburgh's festivals over the past 70 years. From the artists to the hospitality staff. Over those 70 years, the festivals have done what they were intended and more. They have brought an incredibly diverse range of people and cultures together and, in rich Scotland in many ways, they have indeed flowered the human spirit. Let's work together to make sure that we enjoy another 70 years of festivals in this great city and not take them for granted. Let's expand the reach of the festivals, for example, further into Leith. I hope one day that Leith Theatre will once again host events for the festivals as it did so brilliantly recently in the Hidden Door Festival. Let's also expand the economic benefits, for example, working together to share more of the wealth and the cultural enrichment throughout our city. Let's do that with openness and internationalism. Let's keep our international festivals international in terms of all the challenges that we face and continue to welcome the world to this great city. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am delighted to take part today in this debate and have the opportunity to speak. Having spent many years before entering this place supporting, performing, co-ordinating theatrical, musical dance and operatic events, I know only too well about the time, the talent and the commitment that is required to stage an event or festival and I pay tribute to anyone who has embarked on this endeavour. The chance, the opportunity to perform, to inspire an audience, to unlock the potential of an artist is something that is quite remarkable and very encouraging to see. Every August in Edinburgh, the international festival, possesses the capacity to transform one of the world's most beautiful cities into a combined stage and platform for some of the best emerging and established acts across the globe, an opportunity to showcase their talent within exquisite, unique and historic surroundings of the capital of Scotland. We are very much the envy of the world for having the location that we do. The international festival success is built on an uncomprohising commitment to originality, to inviting individuals and creators and performers to showcase their talent, their music, their theatre, their film, their dance or their opera, thus offering a unique experience for the audience to feel enthusiastic, to watch the performer and to participate in many of the events that take place. This year, however, is special. In 2017, it marks the international festival's 70th anniversary. That is something that we should celebrate and shout from thereafter. Of course, what we have to come to expect and recognise in the Edinburgh festival encompasses the whole host of festivals from the international fringe and the film festival, which was founded back in 1947 by Rolf Bink. The whole opportunity of bringing together different types of festivals—and we have heard today already in the chamber—has developed over the years the Royal Military to 2, the Jazz and Blues festival, the international book festival and the international science festival. This year, we celebrate all of those fantastic events as the Edinburgh festival from one of the largest cultural opportunities that we have had and hosting over 25,000 performers. Creatively, that will contribute to hundreds of millions of pounds and thousands of jobs to our economy. That is something that we all welcome. Indeed, the economic impact has been measured at £280 million in Edinburgh and £313 million across Scotland. What a fantastic opportunity to develop and to see individuals come here, express themselves and everybody generate and understand and get something from that. We, the Scottish Conservatives, recognised that festivals are very important. Even our manifesto said that the 70th anniversary of the Edinburgh festival is something that we support and we want to develop the new Edinburgh concert hall, a reaffirming Edinburgh as UK's leading festival city and a cultural beacon around the globe. There have been many studies and many reports on the festival, but one that I want to speak about today showed that 92 per cent of respondents to a study said that the festival had given them the chance to see something that they would not otherwise have had the opportunity to go and support. Those 92 per cent also felt that it was a must-see event because we bring together collaborations, individuals and organisations who want to inform and get their message over in many ways. That is a fantastic opportunity to see collaborations from young and old and from all the different factors that we have seen. It has to be noted that 3,209 shows took place within 294 venues across Edinburgh. That, in itself, is an immense organisational structure to put together. The fringe model has been emulated from Australia to France, Canada to Prague, South Africa to Brighton, China to Brazil and everywhere else in between. The fringe movement has grown from strength to strength, enabling people all over the world to make cultural connections and to transcend national boundaries. It is only right and proper that, on 11 July, a global celebration of the festival is to be staged for 24 hours and will bring together the opportunities of a worldwide euphoria generated by such events as St Patrick's Day and Burns' Night. We want to ensure that they and we have the opportunity to be on that stage. With more than 200 open access events as far away as Canada, South America and Australia, we are all expecting to unite in helping to mark and make much of their Scottish roots. If successful, that could realistically become an annual event and would cement Edinburgh as the birthplace of the festival fringe. As I say, I am delighted to have the opportunity to participate. I am not going to sing to you or perform to you on this occasion, but we may get some time in the future. Well, you know that if your colleagues had not used up that extra time, I might have been asking you to do that. Ash Denham to be followed by Richard Lyle. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am very happy to be taking part in this debate today as an Edinburgh MSP. Seven decades ago, Europe was reeling. Lives were lost, cities were destroyed, and the very meaning of humanity was almost forgotten. In the process, the art and the culture that many European nations had pioneered and were known for around the world was put on hold. Melodies were silenced as concert and opera halls were bombed, prose was usurped by propaganda and theatres went dark for years. That is until war receded and, in its aftermath, Europe looked to Edinburgh. In selecting a city for the international festival, one of the founders, Henry Harvie Wood, said that, above all, it should be a city likely to embrace the opportunity and willing to make the festival a major preoccupation not only in the city chambers but in the heart and home of every citizen, however modest. Seventy years on and with over 2,000 artists from 40 nations, I think that Edinburgh has fulfilled Henry Harvie Wood's ambition and vision. Each year in August, Scotland's capital city is filled with opera, music, theatre, dance and literature. While the hundreds of thousands that flock here get to experience Scotland in the process, so too does Scotland get to experience the world. Of course, Edinburgh's rich culture was a draw for the festival's founders, but more so, I think that they also appreciated the friendly and welcoming nature of Scots in general. That is why it is so beneficial about the international festival and its mission of the flowering of the human spirit—people from all over, coming together in Edinburgh and united through art and culture. In its 70 years, the international festival brought people together not only through the main events in August but by inspiring even more, so the fringe, the international film festival, the science festival and Hogmanay to name but a few. Now Edinburgh is host to 12 major annual festivals throughout the year, experienced by more than four and a half million people yearly and earning it the title of the world's festival city. We celebrate them all today in today's motion. I welcome the Government's £19 million in funding to the festival since 2008 and the extra £300,000 pledged for the 70th anniversary year. Such achievement in world-class events would never have been possible without the leading work of the international festival. We owe the festival its founders, its current staff and previous staff, volunteers, funders and audiences a debt of gratitude because, after all, those events contribute in so many ways to Edinburgh and Scotland but also economically, with £280 million in economic activity just for Edinburgh alone. The festival also, as we have heard today, brings many visitors to Scotland and, according to the 2016 festival impact study, 71 per cent of visitors said that the festivals are the sole or the most important reason they had for visiting Scotland. I have been attending festival events since I was a child and the first one that I can remember was when my parents brought me to watch the fireworks that mark the end of the festival and I have to confess I still absolutely love watching the fireworks and went along last year as well. I have also had the opportunity to start to bring my children to events at the festival. Myself and or with my children I have attended a whole different range of things from opera and concerts to experimental comedy and even just their really inventive street shows. My friends from down south absolutely love to come up and visit in August so that they can combine a visit with me with also attending something of the festival. I would recommend the festivals very highly. There really is something for everyone and for anyone that hasn't been along to the festival, they really should consider attending something. So in the aftermath of war organisations like the international festival were born in part for the world to heal but more significantly they were born and exist still today so that humanity will, even in the most challenging of circumstances, never turn their backs on one another. Festival director Fergus Lyonhan probably said it best when reflecting on the festival's 70th anniversary, saying that it feels more important than ever that we celebrate those founding values of the festival and continue to welcome the world to our city. I hope that we will all continue to be inspired by the festival's creativity both in its philosophy and also in its art. In 70 years it's done so much for Edinburgh, for Scotland and for the world and I'm confident that the best is still yet to come. The last of the speakers in the open debate is Richard Lyle. Thank you very much. I begin this afternoon by expressing my pleasure at being able to contribute to today's debate in the Edinburgh international festivals. Of course, as an almost Ouija from the west coast of Scotland, it can be sometimes challenging to talk about a successful Edinburgh. However, on a serious note, it's absolutely right that we are having this debate to celebrate the sheer impact that Edinburgh's international festivals have on our communities in delivering a thriving economic and vibrant cultural scene. It is too cultural that I want our remarks to begin, Presiding Officer, as there can be no under estimating the fact that Edinburgh's festivals are world-leading and are a cornerstone of Scottish culture and tourism. They have been defining and promoting Scotland's identity as a confident, creative, welcoming nation for the past 70 years. Just last week in this chamber, I asked the Cabinet Secretary for Culture what the Scottish and UK Government were doing to attract major events to be hosted here in Scotland. Why? Because Scotland is a melting pot of culture and a real draw for international visitors, with so much to showcase and so much to share. The numbers associated with events such as the Edinburgh festival are staggering in terms of talent that the festivals attract. There are over 2,500 artists in 2016 from all over the world, from comedy to acting, art or music. A plethora of talent is on display. In 2015, there was a combined audience of £4.5 million. That puts those festivals on par with the attendance at the FIFA World Cup and second to only the Olympic Games. We should be proud of our capital city that it continues to deliver not only an amazing event but delivers for Scotland. Moving on from culture, Presiding Officer, I would like to highlight an important factor in the festival and its other contribution that it makes to Scotland. That is its contribution to the economy. The facts speak for themselves. Edinburgh's festival generated a total impact of £280 million in Edinburgh and £313 million in Scotland. The good news for all of us is that the money generated from the festival has continued to grow. According to the Edinburgh Festival 2015 impact survey, the suite of festivals held in the capital generated £280 million for Edinburgh and £313 million for Scotland, an increase of 19 per cent and 24 per cent respectively since 2010. For comparison sake, we should look at golfing tourism, where the most recent independent economic impact assessment states that it is estimated to be worth £220 million annually. That is a significant economic benefit to Scotland. Beyond finance, however, the festivals are also delivering opportunities, opportunities for employment. As we have seen in 2015, a total of 5,560 full-time equivalent jobs were created in Edinburgh and 6,021 in Scotland compared to 5,047 and 4,757 respectively in 2010. It is clear that the Edinburgh festivals not only contribute to Scotland's incredible cultural scene but to our economic growth as a nation. I am proud that, in 2017-18, £2.3 million has been allocated through the Edinburgh Festival Expo fund by the Scottish Government, which will take the amount awarded to more than £19 million since 2008. I believe that that shows this SNP Scottish Government and the Cabinet Secretary's commitment to delivering large-scale events that attract international visitors and domestic visitors alike and says loudly and clearly our message. Scotland is open, Scotland is welcoming and Scotland is a nation with so much to offer. In two words, we could simply say, visit Scotland. Before I move on to the closing speeches, may I put in record that Ms Denham has just apologised for not having informed the chamber that she is PLO to the Cabinet Secretary. Thank you, Ms Denham. I mean, I move to the closing speeches. I go to Daniel Johnson, if you could give us around six minutes, please, Mr Johnson. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I think that this has been a really fantastic debate with a lot of things that we can all agree about. Indeed, great thanks for, among other highlights, the mental image of Gordon Lindhurst being chased down the Royal Mile by someone brandishing a pair of underpants. Indeed, we can all remark on such remarkable degree of consensus in the chamber that practically every speaker used a line about the World Cup. I do not think that that consensus can be construed as a known goal at all. My only disappointment indeed is that Alexander Stewart did not take up his suggestion of entering into a song and dance routine, which, Presiding Officer, I think that the space in front of you I have always thought would be perfect for such a show. However, as an MSP representing an Edinburgh constituency, indeed somebody who grew up in the city is with a huge sense of pride that I am speaking in this debate. As every speaker has mentioned, the Edinburgh festivals truly are special. For a month in August, this city of—sorry, I was getting carried away, I would be delighted to. Daniel Johnson, I thank you very much for the intervention. Does Mr Johnson share my disappointment that six MSPs who represent Edinburgh have not been in today's debate or taken part in it? Can I diplomatically suggest that they have missed out on a fantastic opportunity to talk about the great things about our great city? I will agree with them to that extent. For the month of August, this city of a mere half million people truly welcomes the world. It becomes a much bigger city, a city full of different ideas and activities. It is something that is truly special. As I grew up in Edinburgh, I became very aware of it. At the age of eight, I decided that I would make my own contribution to the Edinburgh festivals by putting on an exhibition of completed jigsaws and interesting rocks from my garden, advertising it through chalk drawings on the neighbouring pavements. Like many shows in the Edinburgh festival, I have to say that it was not necessarily a commercial nor artistic success, but I do believe that it was a small contribution. Indeed, I think that the contribution that the Edinburgh festivals make is not merely commercial. They are much bigger than that. They are cultural. They are artistic. One of the things that demonstrates that is the degree to which the festival is so many different things to different people. It is comedy, it is music, it is art, it is literature. Well and truly, the world of the arts comes together in one place. As many speakers have mentioned, it really is a case that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The fact that there are so many festivals that seek to copy and capture some of that sense of Edinburgh festivals all around the world truly is a credit to what we have created here. I think that we should thank Fiona Hyslop and my colleague Lewis MacDonald for setting out very well the history of the Edinburgh festivals. In 1947, when it was created, the world was a shattered place. I think that it is a true tribute to Rudolf Bing and his colleagues that brought this together, especially Rudolf Bing. Somebody who would flee the true chaos and the unimaginable horror of the Second World War would come here and do such a big thing of creating the international festival. It is truly amazing. I think that what we have here is an amazing combination of wonderful, eclectic, different art forms coming together, but it is also the combination of the different festivals that are important. Alongside the Edinburgh International Festival, we had the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which was a truly open fringe that was welcome to all, bringing all who wanted to come, create and contribute. It is that combination of curation of the very best that the world has to offer, along with the openness and creativity that is important. I would also like to welcome Ben Macpherson's contribution. He made a very important point, because I think that those lessons are very true and very important today. We are living in a time when the world seems to be on the brink of drawing in, going in on itself. I think that that spirit that the festivals sought to bring to the world is one that we need to consider and look to. I think that the Edinburgh festivals can continue to make that kind of contribution as we go forward. What we have here is of global significance. People around the world know Edinburgh because of how important the Edinburgh festivals are and the cultural contribution that they make, but that contribution is also something that is very important to Scotland. A good number of speakers talked about that economic contribution, contributing around £300 million to the economy. I think that that is important, but it is also something that is important, because it gives us an opportunity in Edinburgh and in Scotland to give something back to the world. It is always very apparent when we talk to people from other countries who know about Edinburgh, about what is going on here and about the specialness of what happens in Edinburgh in international festivals, that it is a fantastic thing that we are able to do, that contribution to the world that we make through those Edinburgh international festivals. I would also like to comment on the points made by Jeremy Balfour and Joan McAlpine about the importance of maintaining that openness, and especially the openness to communities here in Edinburgh. At times, the arts can be precious, and they can be closed off. One of the important things about the Edinburgh festival fringe in particular was that it was meant to be about openness, so we must make sure that we continue to preserve that openness to people who want to contribute in terms of making their contributions to the art and performance, but also to those people who want to attend. We must make sure that the Edinburgh festivals are open to all, both artists and people who want to be audiences. While that is a debate about which we can agree on a great deal, I need to gently bring up the fact that arts need support. While I very much welcome the restoration of the expedition fund, we must note that the City of Edinburgh Council contributes £9 million to the Edinburgh festival. Given the Government pressures, we have to be concerned about that, so I urge the Government to make sure that it continues to support the arts, because it needs support. In conclusion, I think that the festivals contribute a great deal, both to Scotland and to the world. It is something that we have a great deal to be proud of, and I think that we should all continue to support them and the great work that the Edinburgh festivals do. I now call Jackson Carlaw. Around seven minutes, please, Mr Carlaw. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. It is a great pleasure to contribute to this debate. I am, along with Patrick Harvie, my best-selling fringe box office success from a previous Edinburgh festival. I sell out an audience of 600 people. I think that you will agree that we were the parliamentary peak cook and Dudley Moore of this event. I should say that it was probably more owing to the success of the comedian Mark Thomas, who was holding one of his people's manifesto events. Nonetheless, we expected a television series to follow. We were sadly disappointed in that. I think that it only points to the hugely competitive nature of the bid for venues at the festival. I want to pay tribute to Rudolf Bing. He is a hero of the Jewish community, of whom the greatest number live in my eastward constituents. He was born in Vienna in 1902. He lived to the grand old age of 95, dying in New York 20 years ago, and it was knighted in 1971. He was born and brought up in Vienna and moved to Berlin in 1927. He was not actually a refugee, as Joan McAlpine suggested. He did consciously move here, certainly becoming very aware of the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany, but left very much at the start of all that to work at the Gleinborn from the summer of 1934. He was the manager of Gleinborn, in fact, from 1936 to 1939, when, of course, the house closed during the facilities themselves, but was there afterwards to reopen Gleinborn in the immediate period after the war. It was he along with others, but he too, who had the vision of the festival. I have to say, Edinburgh was not the first choice. He actually wanted to start the festival in Oxford, but, in fact, when they were not able to make progress in Oxford, he had to scout around for another venue. For the most parochial of reasons settled on Edinburgh. Why? Because he liked the castle. The castle reminded him of Salzburg Castle in his native Vienna. Of course, Salzburg had its own musical festival, most familiar to most of us, I think, from the Von Trapp family singers in that classic conclusion to the film The Sound of Music, but it was for that reason that the castle reminded him. Crucially, too, the practical contribution that Edinburgh could make, because it had not had the same carpet bombing that many other cities had had in the war, and so there was the ready availability of potentially 100,000 beds for tourists and artists who might want to visit the festival. For those reasons, he settled on Edinburgh. It was a difficult sell in that first year. He managed to attract the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, which was conducted by Bruno Walter, and that had a huge impact in terms of giving credibility. He said himself that many people were sceptical across Europe about whether they should bring their talent to Edinburgh. Some of them did not even know what it was. It was a much more parochial era, but he began to make success with that. He himself said that, if you contemplate the structure of the arts in this country at the time, he said that it could be encapsulated by comparing the number of opera houses that were present on the continent at that time, compared with the United Kingdom. The message that it sent to artists that, perhaps, Britain really was not somewhere that they should come to advance their career. There were, in fact, some 80 opera houses across the continent of Europe. There were only two in the whole of the United Kingdom. One of them was regarded at that stage as being somewhat parochial and not terribly celebrated, or having standards that rose to the occasion. Bringing all those arts companies to Edinburgh was a major achievement. Edinburgh itself became an inspiration for the development of the arts across the whole of the United Kingdom. For all that we have talked about today about the remarkable contribution that is made to cultural life in Scotland, the Edinburgh Festival and those post-war years made an enormous contribution to arts across the whole of the United Kingdom. We have heard some excellent speeches this afternoon. Joan McAlpine might be concerned to know that I agree that there are challenges presented by Brexit. I hope that they prove to be at the margin, but there will be funding challenges, as there has clearly been support funding from there. Jeremy Balfour took us on some of his childhood nostalgia. In the great tradition of Norman Wisdom and Eric Sykes, God McDonald used a prop to entertain us through his own speech. We heard from Ben Macpherson. Alexander Stewart told us that he did a previous career in musical theatre. Who knew? Who suspected? I can only say, Presiding Officer, that he will be compulsorily auditioned. If, in fact, I think that there is any mileage in it, then I will cut short a future speech in order to give him that final opportunity. We heard from the convener of The Showman's Guild. I think that that was probably the cultural aspect that Richard Lyle brought to the debate as he talked about it. We heard from Daniel Johnson that his own showmanship, which I have often paid tribute to in this, he and Mr Cole Hamilton and Jamie Greene, I have always thought that the three great new theatrical performers of this chamber all began with his completed jigsaws in Edinburgh as he sought to embark upon a thespian career. Last year, it was a great pleasure, and I have come to the festival that many people have for years, and I hope that Ben Macpherson does not mind. I do so as somebody from the West Coast. I hope that that does not preclude me from participating. Last year, I attended one of the concerts that was hosted by the comedian Barry Humphries, and it was the lost music from the Weimar Republic. It was incredibly profound. It was music that he discovered in a second-hand bookshop, in a battered briefcase. Compositions from artists, many of whom themselves, had not escaped from Nazi Germany and were dead. Music that had not been performed since Hitler had banded from the cabaret years of that republic, which he had brought back to life, had re-orchestrated and performed. If we look to the Jewish cultural heritage of Rudolf Bingen, we think that last year that concert took place. I thought that it was a nice, circular event to celebrate. I do want to just conclude, having tried to be upbeat, with one cautionary note. I am interested to know what the cabinet secretary has to say about this. This has been a troubled year. We understand it and we have seen some pretty shocking events in the rest of the United Kingdom. People will want to know that they are safe when they come to the Edinburgh festival this year. We know that, by its very nature, it is an event that draws a huge international community to the city, but it is incredibly open. It takes place in the most extraordinarily diverse venues. I do not think that any of us can be anything other than alert to the concerns that people might have. I think that it is very important that we send a message out from Edinburgh that we will be doing everything that we can to ensure that this festival is every bit as successful, everybody is safe, everybody is enjoyable, everybody is participant of as any that has gone before it and that we are able to say that the 70th Edinburgh festival and all the other festivals, including our festival of politics being in the corporate body, have seen the programme. It is stuffed full of some very big acts this year, so it comes later in the year, but all of those festivals bring people to Edinburgh and are a huge continued success. I call on Fiona Hyslop to wind up this debate if you could take us up to five o'clock, please, cabinet secretary. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. We started the debate hearing from Gordon Lindhurst about the melee of the advocates and the artists at the top of the royal mile. My confession is that when I came to the festival when I was 14-year-old, myself and my friend ended up in a Scientologist's recruitment session thinking that it was actually a fringe show, but one of my earliest memories was getting on a bus and coming from Ayrshire to go to the military tattoo and the experience of that has stayed with me a long time, indeed. On the passion that there is for the Edinburgh festival, it is not just because it happens in Edinburgh. It happens in Edinburgh and I think that Ash Denham is an Edinburgh MSP set out why the city itself is so well-disposed and has developed over the years to embrace the festival. However, I must impress the international reputation of the Edinburgh festivals as a calling card for this country is something that other countries are hugely envious of, and it tells the world something about our country, our creativity, our innovation and also our enlightenment as well. I thought that John McAlpine in particular was talking about the intellectual challenges that have existed across the years of the festivals, and that is very important. It has taken shape in different times, whether it is about conservatism and whether it is about different ideas coming to the fore. We now see with the Edinburgh book festival a cafe culture where clearly the moments and the issues of the day are being debated, and perhaps that is where we find today perhaps that intellectual powerhouse that has been the tradition right throughout the years. Lewis MacDonald talked about the importance of the internationalism and he said that the best answer to barbarism is to celebrate civilisation and we absolutely will, in reflection to the latter points, particularly from Jackson Carlaw. Yes, we want to make sure that people are safe. Yes, we want to be open for business, and yes, we want to make sure that that reassurance is extended. Indeed, Michael Matheson, the justice secretary, had a visit particularly last year because, obviously, the threats are not just recent and we have been very conscious over a number of years of how, either within venues or other means, to make sure that the security is there. In terms of the commitment that we have, there is a consensus across the chambers of the value of the Edinburgh international festivals, how important they are, the joy they bring and the impact in the economics sphere as well. I want to commend all those who work tirelessly across all the festivals. This year, the First Minister will host a reception to recognise and personally thank those who work tirelessly behind the scenes instrumental to the success of the Edinburgh festivals, so they are volunteers. The box office staff, technicians, joiners and so many more that go unseen. There will be celebrations this year, particularly around the momentous 70th anniversary. They need to still push boundaries in so many different ways. The reinvention of the festivals is either in the place they are but also in the content. Again, congratulations to the Scottish Parliament, Presiding Officer, for getting in on the act with the festival of politics. Ben Macpherson talked about the importance of the generosity of spirit. I was a bit worried for Richard Lyle, because that generosity of spirit was originally going to be extended to the Ouija Confession, but he again talked about the importance of events. Ben Macpherson talked about the Leith Theatre, and we also need to recognise that, of course, Summerhall has now become a new venue and the actual places that the festival takes place are very important. Gordon MacDonald brought a very important consistency issue in relation to the future of the barracks and the implications for the tattoo. I would also allow all those who have contributed to the debate so far—the Stewards, Macpherson, MacDonald and perhaps some of the Calpines—that in this year of history, heritage and archaeology, there is going to be a splash of tartan at the Royal Military to 2, where two different clans will parade each night. I am not sure if you have already been recruited, but perhaps there may be an opportunity as you go forward. On the festivals themselves, we have talked about the founding festivals, but the other significant festivals grew as a result of that. In the 1950s, we had the First Military Tattoo at the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade. The jazz community led the way and developed the first jazz festival in 1978, taking place in the Adelphi ballroom in Naby Hill and now, of course, in Compass Blues and Jazz. The book festival emerged in 1983, and it remains in its original spot in Charlotte Square and continues to welcome writers from around the world to share ideas and debate the power of the written word, and I understand and disturb the First Minister and Bute House from time to time as well. The first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, arrived in Edinburgh in 1989 to inaugurate the World's First Science Festival. This year, it attracted 146,000 attendants, reaching a wider reach of 350,000. In the same year, communities were instrumental in setting up the international storytelling festival. Originally welcoming 700 attendees, it has now grown to 23,000. Of course, the Edinburgh International Children's Festival started in 1990. This year, it had 10,000 delegates, including schools and 300 international delegates from 23 countries. In my visit to Japan, there is a real recognition of the value and, indeed, the status of our children's festival. Of course, the world-famous Hogmanay emerged next in 1994. Those of us who lived in Edinburgh before 1994 perhaps might have remembered how easy it was to get to the Trond before the 1994 Hogmanay explosion. Of course, now we get 75,000 people into the city. Ten years on, the Edinburgh International Art Festival, which was founded in 2004, now has an estimated 172,000 visitors. Importantly, it is helping people to explain the city to themselves to explore lanes and buildings to be wowed by high-quality visual art. Daniel Johnson might want to dust off his early work and see whether he can get in on the acts and perhaps demonstrate the creativity that is renowned in this chamber. Of course, the alumni of the festivals, the artists themselves are extensive and illustrious. Early audiences were treated to the works of pioneer animator Norman McLaren at the film festival, which also established the profile reputation of Ingmar Bergman in the late 50s. We also saw George Miller, Alan Bennett, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook creating comic mayhem in the 1960s. Of course, that was the same decade as the Traverse was established by John Calder, Jim Haynes and Ricky DeMarco. Of course, Ricky DeMarco brought Macbeth to Inchcom Island, but, also, Importantly, bringing artists from behind the Iron Curtain to absolutely exhibit their art to make sure and extend the point that was made by Lewis MacDonald, that extending beyond boundaries is what arts and culture can do perhaps where others can't. Ravie Shankar, please, cabinet secretary, could ask for a bit of quiet around the chamber please and no private conversations. Of course, we had Ravie Shankar in the 70s and 2011. Of course, the number of writers and performers that started on the fringe are now so well known. Rowan Atkinson, Joe Brand and Ben Elton. Of course, more recently, we have had Juliet Benosh and our home-grown Nicola Bernardetti and Alan Cumming. That only scratches the surface of the quality and variety that the festivals bring. Of course, they continue to thrill and entertain us to make us feel outrage or empathy, perhaps bring a tear to our eye to educate stimulators or perhaps be quite provocative themselves. However, they are the life, blood and a foundation of our culture and heritage, but they are also so important, yes, to our economy. However, a time when the world is facing so many challenges, the thoughts, ideas and the expressions of our sheer humanity that are celebrated in our Edinburgh international festivals are something that we should very much be proud of. I am delighted that we have had such a consensus today, but I also recognise the genuine passion and commitment that people have to the importance of our Edinburgh festivals. I hope and encourage all of you, if you have not already booked your tickets, to make sure and join us in the celebration that will take place right across the summer period. We have the Edinburgh film festival starting next week. In this year, the 70th year, I hope that all of us will join together to pay tribute to those who had the vision at the start, Rudolph Bing and others, but those who carry the torch of that humanity of expression that is their festivals as they celebrate their 70th years. Thank you very much, and that concludes our debate on Edinburgh's international festivals. The next item of business is consideration of business motion 6127, in the name of Joe Fitzpatrick, on behalf of the bureau, setting out a revised business programme for next Tuesday. I would ask any member who wishes to speak against the motion to say so now. I put the question—sorry, I will call on Joe Fitzpatrick first—to move motion 6127. No member has asked to speak against the motion. The question is that motion 6127 be agreed. Are we all agreed? We are. We turn now to decision time. There are three questions to be put. The first question is that amendment 6073.1, in the name of Gordon Lindhurst, which seeks to amend motion 6073, in the name of Fiona Hyslop, on Edinburgh's international festivals, be agreed. Are we all agreed? We are agreed. The next question is that amendment 6073.2, in the name of Lewis MacDonald, which seeks to amend the motion in the name of Fiona Hyslop, be agreed. Are we all agreed? We are agreed. The final question is that motion 6073, in the name of Fiona Hyslop, as amended, on recognising and celebrating Edinburgh's international festivals in their 70th anniversary year, be agreed. Are we all agreed? We are agreed. That concludes decision time. I close this meeting.