Fireworks herald end of festival
A spectacular fireworks display lit up the skyline as the Edinburgh's International Festival drew to a close.

Festival reveals record takings
The 2008 Edinburgh International Festival posted its highest ever box office takings, report organisers.

Festival Fringe director resigns
The director of Edinburgh Festival Fringe announces he is to step down after just over a year in the post.

In video: Edinburgh
Watch videos of the stories from Edinburgh's Festival season.

Watch - Fringe ticket sales fall
Ticket sales at this year's Edinburgh Fringe were down by almost 10% after problems with the box office.

Watch - Street performer's tale
Street entertainer Todd Various explains why he likes to take to Edinburgh's Royal mile during the Fringe every August.

Watch - Dorian Gray
A dance show at the Edinburgh International Festival is retelling Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray as a tale of obsession set in today's celebrity culture.

Bigger Mela 'gathering' cultures
The Edinburgh Mela grows to a week-long gathering of culturally diverse events.

Spirit of Fringe award 'cop-out'
Top stand-up Richard Herring has hit out at the decision to give the "Spirit of the Fringe" to every comedian.

Connery launches book at festival
Sir Sean Connery celebrates his 78th birthday by launching his memoirs at a sell-out event in Edinburgh.

Comics talk debt and divorce
This year's top award winners of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe talk to BBC News about comedy and old cars.

Comic taking care to be a mess
Award-winning comedian Edward Aczel appears has worked hard at perfecting his unkempt act.

Germans flex their funny bone
A German act making a splash at the Edinburgh Fringe by proving their nation possesses a sense of humour.

Hitting the big time
Comedy contender Tom Binns talks about his experience of being on last year's If.com comedy prize shortlist.

Norwegian comic picks up award
Funnyman Daniel Simonsen wins the So You Think You're Funny award for the best new comedian.

Bosnian play based on yobs
A play about classroom culture in Bosnia during the post war years is based on yob culture in 1970s London.

Khmer children revive traditions
One of the most beautiful shows of the Edinburgh Fringe features Cambodian classical and folk dances.

Funny women silence the critics
Three female comedians are among the nominees for this year's comedy awards at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Caravan recreates flood
A Fringe show which takes place in a caravan recreates the effects of last year's floods in England.

Sound of musicals on the Fringe
A new venue at the Edinburgh Fringe is dedicated to musical theatre.

Fringe show felt like 'torture'
The Factory involves the audience in recreating the last hour in the life of prisoners at Auschwitz.

Tent keeps burlesque alive
Edinburgh's Famous Spiegeltent plays host to alternative cabaret show La Clique.

The 'true spirit' of the Fringe
Scottish actor Brian Cox believes The World venue is sticking to the true principles of the Fringe.

The one at the back bangs drum
Dodgy drummer Mathew Priest defends the noble art of drumming in his Edinburgh Fringe show.

Too young to appear at Fringe?
A 12-year-old comedian looks for laughs as he performs a 50 minute stand-up spot at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Parents inspired by Deepcut play
Families of soldiers who died at Deepcut army barracks say a new fringe show has renewed their campaign.

More get in on act at Free Festival
As the big venues at the Edinburgh festival continue to increase their prices, the Free Fringe is increasingly popular.

Stand-up and be counted
Two stand-up comedians share their hopes and fears as they appear at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Fringe focuses on harsh realities
From a Nazi death camp to passenger jet emergencies, the Edinburgh Fringe is not all about comedy.

Fringe ticket sales fall by 10%
Ticket sales at this year's Edinburgh Fringe were down by almost 10% after problems with the box office.

O'Doherty wins Fringe award
Irish stand-up David O'Doherty wins the If.comedy Award, the main prize at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Fringe show wins Festival award
A theatre company based in York has won the Edinburgh International Festival Award for best work on the Fringe.

Comic Aczel wins comedy award
Comedian Edward Aczel wins an award established in memory of compere Malcolm Hardee.

Festival prize for Winehouse joke
Comedian Zoe Lyons' joke about singer Amy Winehouse is voted the funniest joke of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Fire hits capital's coffee stall
A fire has virtually destroyed a charity coffee stall in an area popular for street theatre in Edinburgh.

Fringe comedy shortlist unveiled
The nominees for the top comedy award at the Edinburgh Festival have been revealed.

Comedian in world record bid
A comedian is to attempt a world record by performing the most stand-up gigs in 24 hours in Edinburgh.

Fringe show for Unesco official
Unesco's director-general is to see a Fringe show during a visit to celebrate Scotland's "vibrant cultural heritage".

Fringe change call over ticketing
Edinburgh's Fringe Society holds its annual general meeting, amid calls for a change in how it is run.

Scots stand-up wins Fringe award
Scottish stand-up comedian Janey Godley wins the Nivea Funny Women Edinburgh Fringe Award.

Fringe cash for Made in Scotland
The Edinburgh Fringe is to receive £200,000 from the Scottish Government to showcase homegrown talent.

Byrne stands-up to health check
Irish stand-up Ed Byrne was one of 15 comedians who were checked over by Unison nurses in Edinburgh

Ticket problems hit Chinese Elvis
A performer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival accuses organisers of incompetence over their ticketing system.

Probe into Fringe ticket problems
The Edinburgh Fringe launches an independent inquiry into its own box office following weeks of problems.

Thousands flock to Fringe Sunday
More than 100,000 people were out in force at the Meadows for Fringe Sunday despite the rain.

Comedian health checks 'no joke'
Health checks to stop comedians dying on stage are no laughing matter, says one Fringe group.

Angry parents hit out at Fringe
Children and parents are turned away from Fringe shows after confusion over tickets.

'Fake' magician appears at Fringe
A physicist-turned magician says he is excited and nervous about his show at the Fringe.

Family affairs Bloom at festival
Like most showbusiness events, the Fringe has always been a family affair, both offstage and on.

No joke for wigless Fringe clown
A £500 wig originally made for actor Pete Postlethwaite in a play about a clown is stolen from a Fringe show.

Record opening for Fringe
The Edinburgh Fringe reports a record opening weekend, despite ticketing problems at the Box Office.

Victim's father at Barrymore show
The father of a man found dead in Michael Barrymore's pool protests outside the star's Fringe show.

Girl hurt by glass at Fringe show
A girl is treated in hospital after a skylight breaks causing glass to land on her face while she is watching a show.

Fringe 'open' despite ticket woes
Business at the Fringe festival's box office is said to be "brisk" despite widespread problems with ticketing.

Ticketing problems hit festival
Organisers of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe insist it will run as planned, despite major ticketing problems.

Silent bang for firework display
Special new silent fireworks are to be used in the huge fireworks display to mark the end of the Edinburgh International Festival.

Dance show makes history
A show directed by one of the UK's most successful choreographers makes festival history.

Festival firework tickets on sale
The final allocation of tickets for the Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert go on sale on Sunday morning.

Conductor given festival honour
Conductor Sir Charles Mackerras becomes Edinburgh International Festival Society's honorary president

'Exciting and challenging'
Edinburgh International Festival director Jonathan Mills on the aims and challenges of his programme.

Spectacular laser show
A spectacular laser show takes two months and £15,000 to ship its special equipment from Australia.

Palestinian poet lives on in show
The appearance of the Palestinian National Theatre in Edinburgh is overshadowed by the death of their finest poet.

Sales up at Edinburgh's festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is beginning, with organisers claiming sales have broken previous records.

New play looks at life after care
The lives of young people emerging from a lifetime in care is the unusual subject of a new play.

Dancer's pain over Georgia crisis
A Georgian ballerina performing at the Edinburgh International Festival condemns Russia's actions.

Conductor backs El Sistema
One of the world's leading conductors Gustavo Dudamel backs a new Scottish music project.

'It's certainly not going to be dull'
BBC Scotland's arts correspondent, Pauline McLean, writes about Edinburgh International Festival.

'TV is biased against men'
Middle class white men are discriminated against in the TV industry, presenter Jeremy Paxman claims.

TV is showbiz - Fincham
Ofcom puts too much pressure on TV channels to "worthy" shows, ITV director Peter Fincham says.

BBC channels win festival awards
BBC One, BBC Three and Doctor Who are the main winners in the Edinburgh TV Festival awards.

Comic Kay in talent show spoof
Comedian Peter Kay is returning to Channel 4 with new comedy poking fun at TV talent shows.

TV's celebrity factor
Just why are TV channels so desperate to recruit big names, BBC media correspondent Torin Dougles examines the debate.

Square turned into poetry garden
A square in Edinburgh is to be transformed into a poetry garden for a special free festival event.

Row over age bands for books
A plan to indicate what age group children's books are most suitable for causes a stir in the book world.

A celebration of words
The director of the book festival tells of the mind-bending task of putting the event together.

The taming of the queue
The BBC's Huw Williams notices the peculiar goings-on in the queues for Edinburgh Book Festival events.

Brown brings mystery to festival
Prime Minister Gordon Brown appears as a surprise guest to help open this year's Edinburgh Book Festival.

Salmond in bid to boost housing
First Minister Alex Salmond is using a speech at the Edinburgh Book Festival to announce plans on housing.

Spark fellow's book festival trip
The Australian Novelist, David Malouf is to visit Edinburgh after being awarded the Muriel Spark International Fellowship.

Book festival link to Australia
The Edinburgh Book Festival is to exchange writers with an Australian event via a satellite link-up.

Brown writing book on Britishness
Gordon Brown is getting ready to write his third book in four years - on his pet subject of being British.

Poetry prize awarded at festival
One of the largest-ever prizes for a literary competition in Scotland is awarded at the Edinburgh Book Festival.

Tattoo's 'Homecoming' plans
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo is to move outside the capital next year as part of Scotland's Homecoming 2009.

Artist rounds up colour Cyclorama
An American artist is to unveil an "E-Cyclorama" as part of an exhibition in the Edinburgh Art festival.

Fanfare as Tattoo unveils line-up
A specially-commissioned fanfare is to open every show of this year's Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Tracey Emin 'scared' of critics
Controversial artist Tracey Emin admits she is "scared" an exhibition of her work will be criticised.

Jazz festival celebrates 30 years
The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, which runs from Friday until 3 August, is celebrating its 30th year.

Sell-out Edinburgh Tattoo begins
The famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo begins a sell-out three-week run on the castle esplanade.

Tattoo takes on Glasgow
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes to the streets of Glasgow to boost its profile in the west of the country.

Cavalcade begins festival season
Thousands of people line the streets of the centre of Edinburgh for the festival cavalcade.

Artist brushes up precious broom
Edinburgh's newest contemporary art space exhibits a broom inlaid with precious stones.

Lennox out of politics festival
Former Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox pulls out of the Festival of Politics at Holyrood.

Moving experience for festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival moves to June after 61 years of taking place in August.

Holocaust artist shows life work
A Jewish artist, whose family were killed in the Holocaust, pays tribute to them through 150 paintings and collages.

Arts merger plan 'will go ahead'
The Scottish Government is "100% committed" to the merging of the country's two main arts bodies.