The List Festival Awards will return to Edinburgh on 22nd August 2025, following the success of their inaugural edition in 2024.
The awards aim to spotlight the vibrant cultural landscape of the Edinburgh Festivals, with this year’s ceremony introducing four new categories to further celebrate the diversity of talent on display.
2025 also marks the 40th anniversary of The List, Scotland’s longest-standing guide to arts and entertainment. The publication has played a pivotal role in promoting Edinburgh’s cultural scene for four decades.
The new award categories will honour the best in dance, comedy, and children’s shows, alongside a new accolade dedicated to LGBTQIA+ Fringe artists.
Last year’s winners included Flannery O’kafka: For Willy Love and Booker T: Blue Babies do whatever they want for Best Rising Scottish Artist, K Patrick for Best Rising Scottish Author, and Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands for Best Scottish Film.
The awards also feature categories such as the SoHo Playhouse’s International Fringe Encore Series: Edinburgh Prize, the Sit-Up Award for Best Production with a Social Impact, and the Best Show from Adelaide.
Previous winners include FAMEHUNGRY, Weather Girl, Lewis Major: Triptych, and Natalie Palamides: WEER, Songs Of The Bulbul. In 2024, Summerhall’s Chief Executive Sam Gough received the Spirit of the Fringe Award.
With a weekly magazine during August and a robust digital platform, The List reviews around 400 shows each summer, offering audiences one of the most comprehensive guides to the festivals.
Brian Donaldson, Editor of The List, said:
“Another Edinburgh Festival is on the horizon with world-class artistic endeavours set to enrich the city and all those who converge upon it. There are various ways in which critics and audiences can show appreciation for those endeavours, and lavishing prizes on people is one important way to do it. Having covered the Festival across five decades, The List has built a reputation for knowing what we’re talking and writing about. Our second year of Festival Awards will honour even more brilliant shows and artists, and we can’t wait to get stuck into another season of amazing culture.”
More information can be found here.
