Edinburgh festival performers refuse sterling payments due to Brexit

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Artists ask to be paid in euros and dollars as pound continues to fall amid no-deal risk.

Increasing numbers of artists are asking to be paid in dollars and euros instead of sterling because of Brexit uncertainty, the director of the Edinburgh international festival has said.

The three-week arts festival opened on Friday and includes 293 performances by 2,600 artists from 40 countries. Speaking during its opening weekend, Fergus Linehan, who has been its director since 2015, said many performers had refused to be paid in sterling.

The pound fell to its lowest level in 28 months on Tuesday as the government insisted it was prepared to leave the EU without a deal. Linehan said that the unstable pound meant that staging the festival had become more expensive at a time when public funding for the event was being cut.

This year’s festival, with its budget of just under $14,581,860.00 U. S., opened with a performance from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by its conductor, Gustavo Dudamel. Highlights include a new version of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring by Chinese choreographer Yang Liping and stage shows featuring Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/aug/04/edinburgh-festival-performers-avoid-sterling-brexit