A MAJOR report into climate change is to be read in full as an Edinburgh Festival Fringe show this summer.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report of 2018 will be read from beginning to end in a 50 hour performance.

Similar to the reading of the Chilcott Report, Iraq Out and Loud, in 2016.

1.5Degrees Live! Will draw members of the public beside performers, activists and politicians to read and, they hope, raise awareness of the report.

The lengthy reading will be structured into 50 one hour slots at a shipping container venue at Greenside on Infirmary Street.

Audience members will be given some context as to what the reading is referring to and, organisers said, "some idea of the implications of the science they have been witness to."

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/1-5-degrees-live

THE youth arts festival Light the Blue kicks off today with a week of performances and events taking place across Aberdeen.

The festival will be launched at 6pm with an outdoor performance from Aberdeen Performing Arts’ Youth Theatre and Peterhead’s Modo – Circus with Purpose on Broad Street.

Aberdeen Performing Arts Senior Youth Theatre will then continue Monday’s programme of events with Abi Morgan’s Fugee, in the Lemon Tree Studio.

Light the Blue will bring together young performers from across the region and, this year, the festival has expanded to include international artists.

The Lemon Tree venue is a central hub for the festival.

There will also be a closing gig by Project Band musicians, with a special support slot from Project Band alumni Canary Gold.

Aberdeen Performing Arts’ Drama Development Co-ordinator, Laura Callahan, said that audiences should "expect thought-provoking and entertaining performances, lively discussion and opportunities to learn something new."

She added: “We are really excited to build on and expand what we started with last year’s festival. There are lots of exciting and fun ideas taking shape, from full length theatre productions to live music and street performances. We’re embracing all performance types and showcasing a broad range of talents.”

www.aberdeenperformingarts.com

THE operational director of the Wigtown Festival company, Anne Barclay has said she was “overwhelmed” to hear that she was being awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

The award is being made for services to charity and the arts and recognises her voluntary work to help raise funds for cancer research and her role in building the Wigtown Book Festival.

She is also the Volunteer Committee Chair of the biennial Cancer Research UK Relay For Life, that takes place at Bladnoch Park, which has raised £530,000 since it started in 2008.

She said: "I feel really privileged to have grown up within an incredible community, with the most supportive family, friends and colleagues who have offered constant inspiration and encouragement.

“I have always felt passionately about giving back to the community that afforded me such a fantastic childhood and the opportunity to work for Wigtown Festival Company, with such a dedicated staff and volunteer team, really is a dream job."

Adrian Turpin, Wigtown Book Festival’s Artistic Director, said: “Anne is an inspirational figure, whether in her work with the festival and young people or the endless hours she has put into raising money and awareness for Relay For Life. She really does place public service at the centre of her life and this award couldn't be more deserved. It's a privilege to work with her."

This year’s Wigtown Book Festival takes place from 27 September to 6 October.

www.wigtownbookfestival.com