Edinburgh International Children's Festival

The Children’s Festival presents exceptional theatre and dance performances for children and young people, typically reaching audiences of 18,000. In 2023 this included 41 schools, 329 in person and 41 online industry delegates from 27 countries. 90% of Scottish teachers surveyed believe talking about theatre can help children improve their emotional robustness. Through quality programming we ensure children are watching work that is high-quality, relevant, that resonates by reflecting their identities and stories or alternatively inspires and expands their world. The work subverts expectations of work for young audiences, whilst challenging perceptions through theme and form.

The programme has a global reputation for presenting exceptional international works alongside the best of Scotland. It is where our audience groups come together – schools, families, industry professionals and artists. In 2025, we are presenting 14 shows and 94 performances over the 9 days, representing 9 countries.

The Festival Director attends over 300 performances a year at festivals and showcases globally, to enable us to programme the very best performances. This also maintains Scotland’s reputation as an outwardlooking international country. The programme is a highly visible platform where we demonstrate our commitment to diversity by programming works that are created by global majority artists annually and commissioning global majority and d/Deaf and disabled artists across a five-year span. The Festival is a gateway to onward touring for Scottish based artists.