Edinburgh’s modern Beltane Fire Festival began in 1988. Angus Farquhar and fellow collaborators revived public fire celebrations with inspiration from the older Gaelic festival that marked the beginning of summer. Calton Hill provided a dramatic city setting, and the project sought to renew a sense of community and connection with the seasonal cycle rather than reproduce one fixed ancient ceremony.

The festival has evolved through the imagination and effort of volunteer performers and organisers. Its procession and encounters weave together fire, drums, movement and figures such as the May Queen and Green Man. Historical, mythological and artistic influences meet in a contemporary performance that changes with its participants. Understanding that modern creative character makes the evening more rewarding than expecting a literal reconstruction of prehistoric ritual.