Edinburgh International Festival: Marking 100 years since the end of WWI

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02:46

One of Scotland's major annual performing arts events is now underway in Edinburgh. But the International Festival has always been about promoting peace as well as aesthethics, and this year's edition is finding creative ways to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War. CGTN's Zhang He explains.

Championing harmony has long been at the heart of the Edinburgh International Festival's ethos. This year is no exception. The festival has dedicated a special program to mark a century since the end of the Great War.

FERGUS LINEHAN, DIRECTOR EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL "There are a lot of artists reflecting on the anniversary of the First World War, the ending of the First World War. It is a very important moment not just because it is the end of the conflict, but because of the change in giving a vote to women. There is a major moment in terms of society."

The festival opened with "Five Telegrams" -- a large outdoor digital performance inspired by the different ways young soldiers communicated in 1918. The festival includes acts like British choreographer Akram Khan's new solo work XENOS. Giving a voice to the untold stories of Indian soldiers in the First World War.

FERGUS LINEHAN, DIRECTOR EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL "Sometimes it is perceived as being a European War but of course if affect people from all over the world. People from different part of the world came, fought and lost their lives in that war."

During the Festival, hundreds of locals will perform a massive dance outside the Holyroodhouse Palace, the Queen's Scottish residence, celebrating the diversity and unity in an overtly grand gesture.

PIRITA TUISKU DANCER "It is a kind of joy that the war is done. Of course in that war people have to move to other country. They have to be imported to different countries. So it is always a mix of different culture, different people together. Different age and different culture. So it is about that celebration just bringing people together."

The project will engage people across the channel, performing in two cities, Edinburgh and Paris. Young dancers have been rehearsing for a long time. And they are excited to have an opportunity to get involved.

GREGOR CAMPBELL LOCAL DANCER "I think it is important as well as young people to get involved with these issues and get involved with positive issues as well because we are the people who eventually be inheriting and passing on messages. So it is a positive thing about people coming together. It is important to join in and participate and encourage more people to do so."

ZHANG HE EDINBURGH "100 years on, it is important for us to connect with the past and look into the future, and what better way than with a festival that is born out of the conflict. Zhang He, CGTN, Edinburgh.