Edinburgh hub on the move

The BBC is moving its Edinburgh Fringe hub to the grounds of the prestigious private school said to have inspired Hogwarts.

George Heriot’s School is on Lauriston Place, between The Meadows, Bristo Square and the Grassmarket, and will be giving its East Lawn over to the corporation’s traditional festival venue.

The move comes because the BBC’s former site on Potterrow is being developed by Edinburgh University – part of an extensive building programme which will also involve the demolition of Pleasance Dome in the next few years.

Events being broadcast from the site will include the semi-finals and live final of the BBC Radio  New Comedy Award for the first time, as well as recordings of shows such as Just a Minute, Loose Ends and Front Row.

BBC Scotland’s head of programmes, Donalda MacKinnon said: ‘Due to planned building works at Potterow, the BBC is on the move after five successful years at the University of Edinburgh site. We are grateful to the university and all our neighbours at Potterrow for their support during this period

‘We’re looking forward to creating a new BBC hub in such a beautiful setting and bringing our biggest and most extraordinary cultural festival to a wide audience in Edinburgh and at home.’

Cameron Wyllie, the principal of the £11,000-a-year George Heriot's School added: ‘This is the first time we have undertaken a Festivals partnership of this scale and we are looking forward to opening our grounds to visitors.’

Published: 19 May 2016