The Edinburgh International Festival has announced that it will expand its 2026 programme with the inaugural Global Ideas Stage, “bringing together some of the world’s leading thinkers, artists and cultural voices”.
Curated and hosted by Harvard professor and award-winning author Sarah Lewis and festival director Nicola Benedetti, the Global Ideas Stage brings together former prime minister Gordon Brown, filmmaker Ken Burns, lawyer and social justice activist Bryan Stevenson and journalist Amy Goodman to explore this year’s festival theme, All Rise, “a rallying cry of resilience and ascendance marking the 250th anniversary of American independence”.
Designed as a model for future editions, the Global Ideas Stage is described as an “ambitious new format” for the International Festival.
The event features intimate dialogues on topics including the Scottish Enlightenment’s influence on America, the arts as a medium for ideas and the state of democracy today, before all speakers come together for a full hour-long panel discussion.
Presented in collaboration with Professor Adam Dixon and Panmure House, the last home of Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith, the Global Ideas Stage also takes inspiration from both the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the 250th anniversary of the writing of The Wealth of Nations, reigniting the coffeehouse discussions of Edinburgh’s enlightenment at a time when the significance of these works is being revisited.
Benedetti said: “This year’s Edinburgh International Festival examines both the dark and dazzling possibilities of the American Dream, under our theme All Rise, marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence.
“Exceptional artists from across the United States and around the world present stories and artistic achievements born from – and inspired by – its cultural melting pot, with all the friction and energy that this inspires.
“When we rise, we question. Our first ever Global Ideas Stage brings together a curated group of influential thinkers as we tackle urgent universal questions around justice, liberty and the role of the arts in expressing ideas.
“This inaugural gathering is a testament to our belief that when the abstractness of art and the pragmatism of conversation come together, the deepest impact is possible.
“With a call to action that resonates far beyond one nation, our Global Ideas Stage and full Festival programme celebrates the peak of human creativity, proposes how we can rise above adversity and implores us to stand together.”
