Edinburgh TV Festival Moves to Manchester, Sets Aug. 31 Opening

The TV Festival will open in Manchester on Aug. 31, 2026, ending a fifty-year run in Edinburgh and starting a four-day edition that runs through Sept. 3.

The festival — known for half a century as the Edinburgh TV Festival — unveiled its first Manchester details this week. It keeps the four-day format but shifts later in the calendar. Edinburgh editions ran in the last week of August; the Manchester debut falls after the U.K.'s August public holiday.

Who decided, and why?

The move was made by The TV Foundation, the charity that organizes the festival. The Foundation believes Manchester will make the event more accessible to the television community — a modest claim for a decision that relocates an institution.

The response has been mixed. Critics point to Edinburgh's charm and its proximity to the Edinburgh Fringe, the annual comedy festival, as reasons the TV event thrived there. The Fringe overlap gave delegates a city already thick with industry visitors every August.

Where will it happen?

The venues are Versa Studios Manchester — formerly the site of the iconic Granada Studios — and Aviva Studios, home of the Manchester International Festival and Factory International.

The area carries its own television pedigree. It has produced some of Britain's best-known shows, including "Coronation Street," "University Challenge" and "The Royle Family." Manchester doesn't exactly arrive without credentials.

What does the CEO promise?

Festival CEO Campbell Glennie set out an expansion agenda:

• extending the programme into evening sessions
• new creative partnerships
• public-facing events and screenings

"With Greater Manchester as our new home, we're ready to grow and realise the Festival's full potential over the coming years," Glennie said. "We have the potential to create a city-wide celebration of the TV and broader creative industries for the next generation."

That's the plan. A city-wide celebration is a taller order than a conference-hotel programme, but the ambition is now on record.

Who chairs the advisory board?

The advisory chair for next year's edition is Wayne Garvie, president of international production at Sony Pictures Television. Garvie, a longtime champion of British production, framed the move in character.

"I feel privileged to be bringing the Television Festival to a city I love, a city renowned for innovation, culture, and having a damn good time," Garvie said. "We'll make this an unforgettable event, with emerging voices and global names, argument and laughter, so come and join us to plot the future of our industry."

"Argument and laughter" is a reasonable summary of what the festival does best.

The first test comes next Aug. 31, when delegates discover whether Manchester in early September can do what Edinburgh did in late August for fifty years.