EDINBURGH'S festivals bring in audience numbers on par with the World Cup, a new survey has revealed.

An assessment of the economic impact of the 12 major public events in the capital has found that they attract audiences of more than 4.5 million, putting them on par with football's biggest international competition and second only to the Olympic Games.

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The study also hailed the festivals as economic powerhouses which generated £280m in Edinburgh and £313m for businesses and tourism in Scotland last year, an increase of 19 per cent and 24 per cent since the last time the study was carried out in 2010.

Edinburgh is home to some of Scotland best-loved events, including festivals devoted to science, jazz and blues, art, books, film and storytelling.

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Data gleaned from those events formed the basis of the study, as well as research on the Imaginate festival and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo as well as the Festival Fringe the International Festival, the Edinburgh Mela and the Hogmanay celebrations.

Audience numbers were based on the number of people attending events across all twelve festivals, and include repeat visits.

Overall, the survey found that the 12 festivals drew an extra 1,070,954 people to the capital.

The report stated: "The continued quality and innovation of the core cultural offer of the Festivals lies at the heart of any wider impact they have’ and shows that the economic impact in particular has primarily benefited businesses in the tourism sector, especially accommodation and food & drink businesses."

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Julia Amour, Director of Festivals Edinburgh said: “The Impact Study tells us that the Festivals’ unique resilience and the increasing value they deliver is based on the artistic vision, ambition and programmes of the individual festivals.

"Continued investment in these programmes is crucial to driving our impacts and ensuring that our distinctive cultural offering remains the envy of cities around the world.”

The report, which drew on the comment of almost 30,000 festival goers, found that the events act as a 'tourist gateways' to the rest of Scotland, with many attendees spending nights in other cities and destinations.

The festivals also received a huge thumbs up from visitors, with 94 per cent of respondents saying they were part of what made Edinburgh a special city, while 92 per cent of respondents said they ‘must see’ events.

Despite the huge influx of visitors crowding into the city, locals are also massively in favour of the festivals' continued presence, with 89 per cent saying they increased their pride in Edinburgh as a city.

The Herald: Edinburgh's festivals draw in the crowds Edinburgh's festivals draw in the crowds

Ken Hay, Chair of Festivals Edinburgh said: “As we look ahead to 2017 and the 70th anniversary of the birth of our festival city, these impacts reinforce Edinburgh’s world leading status.

"The 2015 Impact Study shows that the Edinburgh Festivals represent Scotland at its most confident, its most open and its most creative. They are distinctively Scottish and yet profoundly international, committed to capitalising on their enormous global value for the benefit of all.”

Richard Naylor, Director of Research at BOP consulting, who carried out the survey, added “The scale of the 2015 Edinburgh Festivals Impact Study makes it one of the most statistically significant studies in the cultural world and the results continue to show that Edinburgh’s Festivals have an impact commensurate to their world leading festival city status.”