Latest Events in Edinburgh(January Updated)

Founded in 1947, the Edinburgh International Festival is a world-class performing arts event and an annual gathering for people from all over the world. Upholding excellence and innovation, the festival lasts for three weeks each August, bringing together top performers and groups in dance, opera, music, and theatre, making Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, a world-class performing arts event and an annual gathering for people from all over the world. Each year, the Edinburgh International Festival team searches the globe for the most dynamic and creative artists of our time. Together, they create unique collaborative projects, world premieres, fresh interpretations of classic works, critically acclaimed productions, and more… all designed to attract, amaze, and entertain audiences from around the world. All of this takes place in Edinburgh, the historic capital of Scotland.

Information Source: National Library of Scotland | eventbrite

Burns Night, also known as Robert Burns Night or Robert Burns Day, is a festival dedicated to the life and poetry of the Scottish national poet Robert Burns. This annual event takes place on January 25th, the poet's birthday, and features traditional Scottish customs, poetry readings, musical performances, and a special meal. Burns Night is a cultural celebration in Scotland, dedicated to commemorating Robert Burns, one of Scotland's most famous poets. Activities typically include readings of Burns' poetry, singing Scottish songs, enjoying Scottish cuisine, and tasting whisky.

Information Source: Scotsman Conferences | eventbrite

Explore the creation and use of maps during the Second World War. Discover their use through personal stories, photography, and memorabilia. Between 1939 and 1945 over 3 billion maps were produced for the Allied, Soviet and German forces. Used to navigate the jungles of south-east Asia or for devising an escape plan, the maps on display are now mementoes. Maps kept alongside medals and photographs to say ‘I was there.’ You'll find aerial photography, war diaries, and even a fashionable dress made from escape and evasion maps. The exhibition introduces us to a Prisoner of War, an RAF pilot, a Brigadier and an army chaplain through the maps they kept as a memory of their war service.

Giants showcases the colossal prehistoric creatures that lived after the extinction of the dinosaurs, 66 million years ago.Discover life-sized 3D sculptures, skeletons, and fossils in this immersive, family friendly exhibition.EncounterOtodus megalodon, the largest shark to have ever swum the oceans, andTitanoboa, the biggest ever snake. What advantages did their immense size offer? Why did they eventually face extinction? How were they discovered? Visitors to Giants will immerse themselves in the world of a palaeontologist. Use interactives to learn how fossils have been discovered, and find out how prehistoric giants have been reconstructed.Explore how today’s giant animals - such as whales, gorillas, and elephants - face threats from human activity and climate change. Learn how we can act now to ensure their protection for future generations.

From heroin to gambling, from alcohol to love, HOOKED explores the history of addiction. It invites you to consider the stereotypes attached to addiction and how all of us can be vulnerable to it.Exploring pills, drink, snuff and cigarettes, we uncover the many faces of addiction and the many attempts to combat it. We explore the dark origins of substance addiction in the western world – rooted deeply in colonialism and slavery.

Magical Patterns explores six decades of groundbreaking textile design by IKEA. The exhibition features 180 iconic fabrics that showcase the rich history of the Swedish furniture retailer's commitment to innovation, collaboration, and experimental design.

This room invites you to step inside the artist’s studio: a place for creating, dreaming and thinking, where reality can be reimagined and transformed.Studios come in different shapes and sizes. From boat houses to seaside cottages and purpose-built environments, creative spaces are varied and unique. For many artists, their workspaces have also been dictated by circumstance, often marked by uncertainty and impermanence. The works on display give us a glimpse into the studio and the practical conditions of artmaking. They prompt us to consider how artists make work and how space can interact with and influence their materials and methods of making.

The much-loved Turner in January exhibition returns to the Royal Scottish Academy. The free, annual display of these watercolours is a keenly awaited tradition for many people in Scotland. At the dawning of the New Year, as we leave behind the darkest days of winter, the bright vitality of Turner’s watercolours is just what we need. Left to the nation by the great art collector Henry Vaughan in 1900, the watercolours have been displayed annually, following Vaughan’s strict guidelines, that they are only ever been displayed during the month of January, when natural light levels are at their lowest. 2026 will also offer the unique opportunity to see Turner’s Norham Castle, Sunrise in Edinburgh as the work will be on special loan from Tate later in the year.