For three weeks each August, the capital of Scotland transforms from picturesque university town, to picturesque university town playing host to one of the most famous cultural festivals in the world – the Edinburgh International Festival. For its 2017 instalment, Edinburgh-based asset management and investment trust, Baillie Gifford, has extended its long-term sponsorship with the festival to promote the art of dance.

The Edinburgh Festival is three weeks’ worth of theatre, opera, contemporary music, outdoor events and performance. With a live audience of almost 450,000 every August, each year the Edinburgh Festival promotes global engagement through interaction and live experiences. The festival also attracts a host of corporate partners, all working to strengthen the festival from the inside out while delivering their own business objectives.

Through a historic association, Baillie Gifford has supported the festival since 1988. Employing 961 people and with £145bn worth of assets under management, its preferential focus on dance means over the past 29 years, Baillie Gifford has supported a variety of large-scale productions and emerging and established dance artists. This is as well as across classical music, another staple of the Edinburgh Festival.

With a renewed partnership model, which begins in time for the 2017 festival and will continue for until 2019, Baillie Gifford intends to work with the Edinburgh Festival to support a dance production for both the 2017 and 2019 events. A dance programme focusing on the promotion of new talent is the target of the partnership during the 2018 Edinburgh Festival period.

Fergus Linehan, director of the Edinburgh International Festival since 2014, says, “We have a long-standing relationship with our partners at Baillie Gifford and are delighted to have them on board for the next three years.  Brand and business partnerships are an important part of our overall development strategy, and those that extend over multiple festivals support our sustainable planning. We look forward to our continued work together.”

The full Edinburgh Festival programme, including performances supported by Baillie Gifford, was announced on March 15, with public tickets on sale from 25 March Read the latest line-up here.