Edinburgh Gets a New TV Festival as the Old One Heads to Manchester
Edinburgh is getting a new television festival. Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic, Màiri McAllan, confirmed the initiative on 27 August 2026, aimed at developing a fresh festival to sit alongside the city's existing cluster of August events Deadline.
The news lands as the Edinburgh TV Festival prepares to leave the city after 51 years, relocating to Manchester Deadline. Screen Scotland commissioned the initial piece of work exploring an industry event that would replace it. That development work, funded by Screen Scotland, was completed in early summer 2026 Deadline.
A launch event for the new festival drew Richard Gadd, the Scottish writer and performer behind Baby Reindeer and the forthcoming Half Man Deadline. His presence tied the project to a figure whose career was launched in Edinburgh's festival ecosystem, though the initiative itself is an industry-facing event rather than a talent showcase.
Rowan Woods, formerly the creative director of the Edinburgh TV Festival, has been appointed to lead the next stage of development. That phase is funded by Screen Scotland and delivered through The Fringe Society — the body that runs the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Deadline. The consultation is expected to conclude in early spring 2027, with an initial pilot planned for next August Deadline.
David Smith, Director of Screen Scotland, said Edinburgh "has a unique role to play in bringing together people, ideas and creative work shaping the future of the screen and wider creative industries" Deadline. Screen Scotland is also establishing the Lynda Myles Debate — named for the producer and former Edinburgh International Film Festival director — as a keynote element of the August festivals from next year Deadline.
The Scottish Government is investing £4 million in festivals through its 2025–2026 budget, according to its published arts and culture policy pages Scottish Government. That figure covers the broader festival landscape rather than the new TV event alone.
What makes this stand out is the timing. Edinburgh has hosted a television festival for over half a century, and the announcement of a replacement comes the same month the original confirmed its move south. For the commissioners, producers and writers who travel to Edinburgh each August, the question now is whether a new event — still in its consultation phase, with no pilot until next year — can fill a slot the old one held since 1975.
