The Edinburgh International Festival was founded in 1947. It is now recognised as one of the most important celebrations of the arts in the world.

The founders of the Festival believed that the Festival programmes should be of the highest possible artistic standard presented by the best artists in the world, that the Festival should enliven and enrich the cultural life of Europe, Britain and Scotland and that it should provide a period of flowering of the human spirit.

The Edinburgh International Festival has developed significantly over the years, yet the founders' original intentions are closely reflected in the current aims and objectives.