Tickets are now on sale for Edinburgh’s world-famous fire festival, which gives Summer a warm welcome with a dazzling display of fire play, acrobatics, drumming, and immersive theatre.
Taking place on April 30th, this alternative May Day celebration offers a modern interpretation of the ancient Celtic holiday Beltane. With 300 performers taking part, and a capacity of 9,000 on the top of Edinburgh’s Calton Hill, Beltane Fire Festival is the largest event of its kind in Europe.
In keeping with Beltane Fire Society’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact, it is moving away from paper tickets this year and implementing a digital ticketing system for the first time. Tickets are available to buy from Edinburgh-based ticketing company Citizen Ticket, a platform built on innovative technology designed to put the trust back into ticketing. Citizen Ticket will provide customers with a streamlined experience from initial purchase, right through to entrance to the event.
The festival tells the story of the transition from Winter to Summer, which can only happen when the Green Man, an archetypal figure in folklore all over the UK, dies and is reborn again. He does so in order to shake off the last vestiges of Winter so that he can join the May Queen, a goddess figure, as her consort. The story has variations on it each year, but at its core contains messages about letting go of the past, embracing opposite perspectives and characteristics, and retaining ties with our natural world.
Hundreds of volunteers envision and perform in the festival, making it a cumulative product of a community that has been lovingly fostered through the decades. Founded over 30 years ago by a handful of folk artists and historians, including Angus Farquhar of the influential industrial band Test Dept and the Scottish poet Hamish Henderson, the festival’s growth and continued success is a testament to the power of community arts.
After a sellout Samhuinn Fire Festival last October – which was ticketed and held on Calton Hill for the first time – the festival’s organisers are urging attendees to book their tickets as early as possible.
Erin Macdonald, chair of Beltane Fire Society’s board, said:
Communities across Scotland have been celebrating the change of seasons for centuries, and our event upholds those Celtic traditions and reimagines them for modern audiences. Preparations are just beginning for this year’s Beltane Fire Festival, and we’re excited to share the fiery spectacle that our hundreds of volunteers will craft over the coming months.