Edinburgh's cultural power and status - most evident at this time of year whe the various festivals are attracting huge numbers of visitors to the Scottish capital - will be discussed at an Edinburgh International Book Festival event on Thursday morning, August 17.
'Talk of the Town' will feature contributions by arts writer David Pollock, Debora Kayembe, rector at The University of Edinburgh, and a prominent sociologist, Professor David McCrone.
Mr Pollock is the author of The Edinburgh Festival: A Biography, while Professor McCrone, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Edinburgh University, has written a number of books including Who Runs Edinburgh? He has said of it: "It is an attempt to make sense of a city I came to as a student in the 1960s, and never left. Like many people who did so, I think of myself as an insider-outsider. The question, who runs the city, is an intriguing one".
Ms Kayembe has served on the board of the Scottish Refugee Council, and is a member of the office of the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Court Bar Association.
Outlining the event, the EIBF programme says: "Every year, we celebrate the excitement and joy of Edinburgh’s festival season, yet the ‘Festival City’ has not been without its critics". It promises a "fascinating discussion on the forces shaping the city's cultural power and status".
The hour-long debate will be chaired by Catherine Salmond, editor of The Herald.
* 'Talk of the Town', August 17, 10:45am-11:45am, Baillie Gifford West Court. Tickets: £15.50 (concessions £13.50/£10.50). www.edbookfest.co.uk/
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