After 50 years in Edinburgh, British television festival announces a future home.
After 50 years in Scotland the Edinburgh TV Festival will become the Manchester TV Festival from 2027.
The decision follows a UK-wide strategic review into the event’s long-term future and a competitive bidding process.
The review was undertaken in order to examine how the TV Festival could continue to grow amid increasing challenges around accessibility, affordability and sustainability across the television industry and in response to the growing challenges of rising costs for both organisers and attendees.
Campbell Glennie, CEO of the TV Festival and The TV Foundation, said: “Greater Manchester presented a vision for the Festival that combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy with practical accessibility and affordability for delegates. This means we can radically reduce the costs associated with attending the Festival as well as the cost of passes.
“The city reflects the expanding ambition of the UK television industry, while still offering the scale, connectivity and unique cultural identity needed for an event of this significance; it gives us the strongest platform to grow the Festival’s reach and impact in the years ahead.”
Fatima Salaria, Chair of the Festival board said: “This was never a decision about wanting to leave Edinburgh, or about diminishing the extraordinary role Scotland has played in shaping the identity of this Festival for 50 years. Edinburgh gives the Festival a powerful origin story, and we respect that deeply.
“But this decision had to balance legacy with future opportunity. The Festival now needs the right conditions, support and momentum for its next chapter; where it could have the strongest chance to grow and serve the widest part of the industry. For the Board, that place was Greater Manchester.”
The final Edinburgh TV Festival will take place in August 25 – 28.