15,000 free tickets for Edinburgh International Festival opening event
People from across the country can apply for the tickets to the prestigious event in the capital.
Organisers have announced that 15,000 free tickets will be available for the opening event of the Edinburgh International Festival.
The Aberdeen Standard Investments Opening Event: Five Telegrams, is an outdoor performance marking the centenary of the end of the First World War and Scotland's Year of Young People.
Created by composer Anna Meredith and 59 Productions, it will feature large-scale illuminations and projections on the Usher Hall and a new work for orchestra and chorus.
Tickets for the event, which will open the Edinburgh International Festival at 10.30pm on Friday August 3, will be available from 10am on Monday July 2.
Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) Director Fergus Linehan, said: "Collaboration sits right at the heart of this event, whether in the creation of Five Telegrams by Anna Meredith and 59 Productions, our co-commissioning of this new work with 14-18 Now and the BBC Proms, through to partnerships with the many supporters who make this event possible.
"Over the last few years, the Opening Event has grown to become a multi-partner project and I'd like to say thank you to all of them - Aberdeen Standard Investments, Scotland's Year of Young People through Event Scotland, the University of Edinburgh, Blue-i Theatre Technology and Mclcreate.
"We're also delighted to announce the renewal of our title sponsorship, which will move forward with Aberdeen Standard Investments. Knowing that this relationship will continue to 2021 helps us plan ahead with confidence and we look forward to working with the Aberdeen Standard Investment team over the next three years."
The production comprises five movements, each of which reflects on modes of communication during the period of the First World War and how it resonates today.
Lothian Road will be closed during the event, allowing audiences to experience the production from a dedicated arena in Festival Square, from which they can view the projected animations on the outside of the Usher Hall, and hear the score.
In a new move, this year's Opening Event includes a live performance element for the first time, featuring hundreds of local young people who will bring Five Telegrams to life within the square