128:, issued an appeal for "citizens who will be prepared to act, in a voluntary capacity, as guides," their duties consisting of "taking parties of visitors … along the Royal Mile and explaining to them its historical associations." Twelve volunteers came forward to lead walking tours twice a day during the Festival. The tours, which were coordinated by John Bowman, a former City Water Engineer, were listed in the Festival's official programme under the heading "Special Tours".
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108:) is a non-profit group of volunteers who lead walking tours of the historic districts of Edinburgh, principally for visitors to Edinburgh's summer festivals. The organisation was set up as part of the first Edinburgh International Festival in 1947 and continues to operate under the patronage of the city's Lord Provost. The volunteer guides receive no remuneration, and no charge is made for most of their tours.
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More volunteer guides were recruited for the 1948 Festival. In that year the group was officially constituted as the
Edinburgh Festival Voluntary Guides Association, with Bowman serving as its first president and with the Lord Provost as its patron. By the time of the 1949 Festival, there were 40
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The
Association also offers private tours on demand outside the Festival, for which it makes a small charge. In 2019, it started running free tours as part of Edinburgh's Open Streets programme, in which most of the Royal Mile and some adjacent streets are closed to motor vehicles but open to
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In the mid-1950s, a programme of free illustrated talks (originally known as "lantern lectures") was added to the
Association's offering, and these continue to this day. The talks take place during the Festival season, and are typically on subjects relating to Edinburgh and Scottish history.
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passed a resolution congratulating the volunteer guides on the 75th anniversary of the
Association in 2022. The resolution, which was proposed by Cllr Amy McNeese-Mechan, also requested that the Lord Provost "marks the anniversary in an appropriate way".
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Today the
Association is entirely self-supporting, with no funding from public sources. Its administrative costs are met from visitors' donations and also from charges made for private tours outside the Festival season.
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stepped in with an offer of both secretarial and financial help, an arrangement which was to last for seven years. This was mainly thanks to the support of the
Department's former director,
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212:, the Association was only able to offer a reduced programme of tours during the 2020 and 2021 festival seasons, but returned to their normal full programme for 2022.
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The
Festival Society provided secretarial and financial assistance and took responsibility for vetting the volunteers. A meeting place for the tours was provided in
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The EFVGA currently has about 75 guides, of which 45 to 50 are active at any one time. All guides go through a rigorous training and assessment process.
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rather than the
International Festival. The group typically runs about 80 tours during the three weeks of the season. In 2013, it moved its base to the
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The
Association's main activity still consists of running free tours during the Festival season, although these are now officially part of the
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The
Festival Society discontinued its support for the Association in 1985. The Department of Extra-Mural Studies at the
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Over the next few years, the tours grew in popularity, attracting about a thousand visitors per season by 1950.
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479:"Council congratulates the Edinburgh Festival Voluntary Guides Association on their 75th anniversary"
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Melvin, Eric. "Edinburgh Festival Voluntary Guides Celebrate 75th Anniversary".
395:"Here is everything you need to know about Edinburgh Open Streets this weekend"
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Falconer, John I. (1 July 1947). "Royal Mile Guides for Festival Visitors".
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from Cannonball House when that building was converted to a restaurant.
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453:"75 hours at the 75th Edinburgh International Festival: week one"
370:. No. July/August 2022. Lowther Publishing Ltd. p. 24.
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An EFVGA guide showing visitors the 16th-Century Riddle's Court
307:"Temporary guides. Lord Provost's Tribute to Their Services".
139:. The tours followed the length of the Royal Mile, ending at
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256:. London: Robert Hale & Company. p. 226.
135:, a historic town house next to the entrance to
102:Edinburgh Festival Voluntary Guides Association
19:Edinburgh Festival Voluntary Guides Association
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322:"Voluntary Guides: Lord Provost's Thanks".
201:visitors on foot or bicycle once a month.
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93:http://www.edinburghfestivalguides.org
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341:"A short history of the Association"
393:Matchett, Colin (31 October 2019).
116:During the planning for the first
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516:Organizations established in 1947
521:Organisations based in Edinburgh
457:Edinburgh International Festival
118:Edinburgh International Festival
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511:1947 establishments in Scotland
412:"Royal Mile History Lecture".
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483:The City of Edinburgh Council
241:. (Letter to the Editor): 4.
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531:Annual events in Edinburgh
292:"Scottish District News".
432:Lord Provost of Edinburgh
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383:. 6 August 2015. p. 18.
62:Non-profit organisation
399:Edinburgh Evening News
326:: 5. 9 September 1950.
311:: 6. 8 September 1949.
281:: 4. 3 September 1947.
252:Bruce, George (1975).
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46:; 77 years ago
428:"Volunteers Champion"
254:Festival in the North
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546:Tourism in Edinburgh
536:History of Edinburgh
168:Edinburgh University
44:August 24, 1947
296:: 3. 16 April 1948.
147:guides in service.
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526:Edinburgh Festival
277:"Festival Notes".
182:Current activities
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120:in 1947, the then
416:. 30 August 1957.
217:Edinburgh Council
210:COVID-19 pandemic
126:Sir John Falconer
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487:. Retrieved
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414:The Scotsman
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344:. Retrieved
324:The Scotsman
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309:The Scotsman
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294:The Scotsman
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279:The Scotsman
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122:Lord Provost
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59:Legal status
33:Abbreviation
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541:Royal Mile
505:Categories
381:The Herald
224:References
51:1947-08-24
73:Edinburgh
41:Formation
162:Finances
81:Services
67:Location
489:29 July
463:29 July
112:Origins
89:Website
49: (
437:20 May
346:19 May
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106:EFVGA
36:EFVGA
491:2022
465:2022
439:2020
348:2020
258:ISBN
100:The
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
