- The Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert
Synchronised Music and Fireworks
For the first time the annual Fireworks concert in Princes Street Gardens was moved from the usual Saturday late night performance to the following evening, Sunday September 5th at the earlier time of 9pm. The aim was to welcome all festival-goers, local residents and visitors from near and far, and create a true civic celebration at the end of the Edinburgh Festival. Princes Street and surrounding streets are closed to traffic so that an audience of around half a million can attend. The fireworks can be seen from some distance away including Inverleith Park, which is a safe family viewing point.
The concert by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra takes place in the Ross Bandstand in the gardens with a fabulous display of fireworks set off from the Castle above. Edward Grieg's Incidental Music for Peer Gynt was the choice for this year's concert. This neatly echoed the production of Peer Gynt by the Berliner Ensemble earlier in the Festival. As conductor Alexander Briger raised his baton for the opening of the first movement, Morning, the first fireworks were set off - clouds of glowing pink mist smothered the battlements of the castle creating an eerie and dramatic scene. You almost expected Hamlet to appear.
With impeccable synchronised timing the lyrical sequence of dances were matched with darting rockets in all directions, tumbling white waterfalls of light down the castle rock and spectacular showers and explosions of colour in the dark night sky. Oohs and aaahs were heard all around. Simply breathtaking. It was a spectacular end to an exhilarating three-week festival of international music and the arts.
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