Edinburgh international fest begins

1:18pm Friday 8th August 2008

A three-week celebration of world-class theatre, music and dance gets under way with the launch of the prestigious Edinburgh International Festival (EIF).

This year's festival - the 62nd in its history - explores the challenges and changes facing modern Europe.

It will showcase three world premieres, two European premieres, 10 UK premieres and a host of new productions of well-known works.

This summer's event is the second under the leadership of Australian director Jonathan Mills, who described the 2008 line up as "fantastic".

He said: "This is the most exciting moment of the year. After months of planning and work artists are about to unleash their creative energy and ideas on thousands of people across the city's venues."

The opening concert, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, is being held on Friday evening at the Usher Hall, which is still midway through its multi-million pound redevelopment.

Organisers claim the dance programme is one of their biggest yet and overall dance sales have reached a ten-year high.

The festival will end on August 31 with Europe's largest annual firework display to live music against the stunning backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.

On Thursday it was revealed that more than £2 million has already been spent on tickets for events at the EIF. Organisers have also seen record-breaking internet sales.

Online bookings are up 17% on last year, with more than half of all sales in the last week being taken over the web. Several events have sold out and over 13,000 people are booked to enjoy performances in this weekend alone.