St Magnus International Festival has been awarded three-year funding from Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Funding scheme along with 251 other organisations across Scotland alongside fellow Orkney organisation the Pier Arts Centre.  This means the festival is set to receive public support of £190,000 in each of the next three years.    St Magnus International Festival is delighted to have received this financial investment and welcomes Creative Scotland’s confidence in its work.    It is a testament to 49 years of achievement, value and consistent quality for a festival based at the heart of the Orkney community and a rural part of the Scottish arts landscape.  The award does not significantly change plans for the Festival in 2025 as this had to be well on its way by the time of this delayed funding announcement.    2026 sees the 50^th Anniversary of this event and this funding award allows the Festival to plan a significant celebration for its audiences in that year.  

Alasdair Nicolson  Festival Director said:     “There is no denying this has been an arduous two-year process, but I’m delighted that our work continues to be recognised as impactful, important to so many and high quality.  Achieving such an award gives us the security to plan and develop ideas into the future and allows us to continue bringing unique experiences and innovative work in all artforms to midsummer in Orkney.   The community and this special place are at the heart of this event and that gives us enormous strength, but investment in the festival from our national arts agency is key to a secure future and we’re grateful to Creative Scotland for its continuing support. “

John Rendall Festival Director said:     “We are delighted to have received this three-year commitment of support from Creative Scotland and see it as a reflection of our high quality programmes, our community involvement, and our place in making the arts accessible in rural locations.  A big thank you to the small team led by Festival Director, Alasdair Nicolson; the board members who made important contirbutions to this process over a two-year period; to the numerous volunteers who allows us to stage the festival; and to everyone that supports our activity.   We can now look forward to celebrating a significant milestone in 2026 and playing our role in demostrating the power of the arts within Scotland’s communities. “