The two cultural powerhouses have set joint goals for artistic, business and community collaboration over the next three years.

A historic agreement has been brokered between Adelaide and Edinburgh, with the Adelaide Festival signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Edinburgh International Festival earlier this week. The agreement formalises the relationship between the two festivals and sets out joint goals for artistic business and community collaboration over the next three years. The collaborations will include everything from ticketing systems, promotional campaigns and artistic exchanges to sharing staff and other resources.

Describing the agreement as “a watershed” for the two festivals, Rachel Healy, Co-Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival said: “It is thrilling to contemplate a shared future which involves creative collaborations, commissions and artistic exchange; opportunities to share market insights and new audience and business initiatives; and celebrating the commitment of audiences in both cities to a rich and diverse cultural life.”

The agreements will also see collaboration between the two cities’ Fringe Festivals – the two largest annual arts festivals in the world. “Other than Adelaide, there are very few events with the structure of a formal festival at the centre of it and the Fringe around it,” said Edinburgh...