In this month’s spotlight, Gabby Sloss from the Beltane Fire Society shares an update about their upcoming festival. One of the four quarter day festivals, Beltane sees communities come together to celebrate the return of the summer. The 2026 Beltane Fire Festival will take place on Calton Hill in Edinburgh on Thursday 30 April.
This year’s Beltane asks us to remember what happens when those forces drift out of alignment. The May Queen is the world spirit, present in all things, illuminating and connecting. The Green Man is the living earth: the air, the water, the fire, the energy that binds us. They are inseparable, yet in a world of constant distraction, extraction, and division, we can forget this truth, losing our sense of agency and connection.
Through fire and performance, we explore what it means to realign, to listen again, to act from love and solidarity, and to remember that change is possible when we stand together. As the May Queen guides and the Green Man learns to listen, their reunion becomes a story of active hope: a reminder that when body and spirit move as one, our collective power is limitless.
Along the Hill, you’ll encounter drummers, dancers, fire-players, acrobats, musicians, and a host of mythic characters, all weaving a shared story of renewal and resistance, joy and responsibility.
Beltane 2026 is an invitation to remember who we are, what we value, and who we might yet become. Bring your fire. Bring your voice. Together, let us tell a story of alignment, connection, and a kinder, fairer world.
About the Beltane Fire Society
Beltane Fire Society is a volunteer-led Scottish charity sustaining the Beltane and Samhuinn Fire Festivals. Funded by members and ticket sales, it promotes Celtic seasonal traditions, street theatre, and collaborative performance. Since 1988, it has fostered community, creativity, and connection to nature, with audiences as participants in its evolving cultural story.
The Beltane Fire Festival 2026 will take place on Thursday 30 April. Visit the Beltane Fire Society website to find out more and book tickets.
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