Edinburgh Festival illustration from the cover of 'Scottish Field', 1959.
We should applaud the Lord Provost of Edinburgh for being bold enough to support the idea of a festival in Scotland after the Second World War.
It was not a unique idea, but Edinburgh fitted the bill when impresario Rudolf Bing was looking around for a setting like Salzburg for a festival to help 'provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit'.
The human spirit has flowered in abundance ever since 1947.
The 'official' festival has attracted fringe activities since year one. Films and books and comedy have attached themselves and thrived as enthusiastic close relatives.
For a few weeks of the year Edinburgh becomes something else entirely. Love it or hate it, Auld Reekie buzzes and attracts and entertains like no other place.
An ABC of Scotland
Edinburgh Festival was just one of the 'E' topics in our alphabetical exhibition celebrating some of the outstanding achievements by Scotland and Scots.
'Wha's like us?' ran from 13 December 2013 to 18 May 2014.