There are obvious costs associated with running a festival like ours – paying performers, and activity providers, stage and equipment hire for instance, but there are many other costs that are less obvious – for example licensing fees to Edinburgh council to hold the event, allow the stalls, traders, and music.

First aid, fire safety equipment and security to ensure event safety is important, as is paying volunteer expenses, and providing refreshments and lunch to people volunteering their valuable time on gala day and beyond. These are just some of the costs required to pay for things that are needed on the day of the event.

Programme design and printing, banners, promotion and fundraising in the lead up to the festival all take time and/or money to ensure a successful event. While many of the tasks required to make the festival happen are undertaken by the board members, we could not do this without paying for some professional help – especially in the months leading up to gala day and festival week so we pay a festival coordinator to help us manage the myriad details required each year. Ongoing costs throughout the year include office space, utilities, insurance cover, and website fees. The list goes on.

In all, we need to raise a minimum of £20-£25k to make the gala day, festival and tattoo a success each year, so all contributions are most gratefully received.