Knockengorroch, Summer Sessions among Scottish festivals awarded funding
The first 28 recipients of the government's Expanded Festivals fund have been announced.
Date published: 23rd Mar 2026
The first recipients of the Scottish Government’s new Expanded Festivals Fund have been announced.
Aiming to widen support for Scotland’s festivals and strengthen opportunities for artists and audiences, Creative Scotland has awarded £1,994,000 of funding to 28 festivals in the first round of support for the new Expanded Festivals fund.
Among the recipients of the funding are Knockengorroch Festival, Summer Sessions, Dundee Jazz Festival, Gathered Together, Counterflows Extended Play, Glasgow Jazz Festivals, Solas Festival, Edinburgh Tradfest, and Tramway's Dance International Glasgow.
The festivals supported by the funding include those in music, film, art and literature.
The funding is designed to “enable innovation in programming and showcase Scottish and Scotland-based artists and practitioners”, supporting “festivals in expanding their international and domestic reach and profile and creating opportunities for skills or sector development.”
Culture Secretary, Angus Robertson, said: “The Expanded Festivals Fund forms part of the Scottish Government’s ongoing commitment to provide an additional £100 million more annually for culture funding by 2028-29. I am heartened to see this fund support incredible projects across Scotland, which will increase participation in creative pursuits and ensure festivals can commission and collaborate on new and exciting works.”
Paul Burns, Interim Director of Arts and Engagement at Creative Scotland, said: “Scotland’s festivals are a vibrant celebration of our creativity and culture, recognised and enjoyed by local communities and people from around the world.
“The Expanded Festivals Fund is a new opportunity to profile incredible creative work in every corner of the country and support other areas vital to our festivals’ ongoing success. The supported projects reflect the full range of our festivals’ work - including sector and talent development, international collaboration, and the development of new projects with specific groups and communities in their areas.”
Recipients of awards of up to £200,000 will be published in May 2026.
The Expanded Festivals Fund was launched in 2025. Managed by the culture and creativity public body Creative Scotland, the fund is available to non-profit arts and cultural festivals in the country. It distributes funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery.
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Header image credit: Knockengorroch Festival