ETC Brings Technical Support to Edinburgh Festival 2026

Key Points

• ETC is returning to Edinburgh during the 2026 festival season to provide technical support and expertise to lighting professionals and production teams.
• The ETC team will visit venues across the city from fit-up onwards, offering technical assistance, answering questions and providing practical advice.
• A dedicated ETC in Edinburgh landing page has been launched, featuring training videos, technical resources, software downloads, drop-in training session details and a support helpline.
• The helpline gives users direct access to the ETC Support Team for technical advice and assistance throughout the festival period.
• Free, informal drop-in training sessions will run from 11–18 August at the University of Edinburgh (Appleton Tower), covering lighting design, Eos programming, magic sheets and macros, busking, colour tools, effects and data distribution.
• The training sessions are open to anyone with no registration required.
• Declan Randall, ETC Outreach and Training Specialist, stated that ETC is excited to be back in Edinburgh during one of the busiest periods in the theatre calendar and looks forward to helping the festival run smoothly.

Edinburgh (Edinburgh Daily) August 05, 2026 – ETC has announced its return to Edinburgh for the 2026 festival season, deploying its technical support team across the city to assist lighting professionals and production crews working under the intense pressures of one of the world’s largest live performance events. The initiative is designed to provide on-the-ground technical assistance, share expertise and ensure that technicians can make the most of their time during the festival’s demanding schedule.

As reported in coverage by ET Now and ETC’s own news release, the company’s support will begin from the fit-up phase, with ETC staff visiting venues across Edinburgh to offer hands-on help, answer technical queries and deliver practical advice whenever needed. This marks a continuation of ETC’s commitment to supporting the live events sector during peak periods, particularly in high-intensity environments such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and associated festivals that transform the Scottish capital each August.

How can festival technicians access ETC support in Edinburgh?

To facilitate easier access to resources, ETC has launched a dedicated “ETC in Edinburgh” landing page that consolidates training videos, technical documentation, software downloads and information about informal drop-in training sessions. The page also features details of a dedicated support helpline, which provides direct access to the ETC Support Team for real-time technical advice and assistance throughout the festival period.

According to information published by ETC and reiterated by ET Now, the helpline is intended to give users a reliable point of contact for troubleshooting, configuration questions and other technical challenges that may arise during the fast-paced festival environment. The landing page serves as a central hub for all ETC-related festival support resources.

What training sessions will ETC offer in Edinburgh in August 2026?

During the week of 11–18 August 2026, ETC will host a series of free, informal drop-in training sessions at the University of Edinburgh, specifically at Appleton Tower. These sessions are open to anyone interested, with no registration required, reflecting ETC’s aim to make support as accessible as possible to the broadest possible audience of technicians, designers and operators.

The training curriculum, as outlined by ETC and reported by ET Now, covers a range of topics relevant to contemporary lighting practice, including lighting design fundamentals, Eos programming, magic sheets and macros, busking techniques, colour tools, effects creation and data distribution. These subjects address both foundational skills and advanced programming workflows that are commonly used in festival productions, particularly those relying on ETC’s Eos family of lighting control systems.

What has ETC said about its Edinburgh festival support initiative?

Declan Randall, Outreach and Training Specialist at ETC, provided an official statement on the company’s return to Edinburgh. As reported by ET Now and ETC’s news release, Randall said: “We’re excited to be back in Edinburgh during one of the busiest periods in the theatre calendar. Whether we’re helping solve a technical issue, sharing programming tips or catching up with end users, we’re looking forward to playing a small part in helping the festival run smoothly.”

Randall’s comments underscore ETC’s positioning of the initiative as a supportive, service-oriented presence rather than a commercial activation, with emphasis on problem-solving, knowledge sharing and relationship-building with end users. His role as Outreach and Training Specialist, listed in ETC’s UK company profile alongside Market Manager Rory Fraser-Mackenzie and Technical Service Manager Steve Wiltshire, aligns with the educational and support-focused nature of the Edinburgh programme.

Why is technical support critical during Edinburgh’s festival season?

Edinburgh’s festival season transforms the city into one of the busiest centres for live performance in the world, with thousands of performances taking place across hundreds of venues. Behind every show, technicians and production teams work to tight schedules, often in challenging and fast-paced environments where equipment must be configured, tested and maintained under significant time pressure.

Industry coverage of festival operations highlights the scale of the undertaking: in 2024, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe alone hosted more than 3,400 productions featuring over 23,000 artists performing in more than 40,000 shows across nearly 500 venues. Technical crews, including lighting technicians, sound engineers and stage managers, are responsible for preparing performance spaces, managing changeovers and ensuring that each production runs safely and to spec. In this context, accessible expert support can reduce downtime, prevent technical failures and improve overall production quality.

Background of the development

ETC’s Edinburgh support initiative builds on the company’s longstanding presence in the UK live events sector and its broader commitment to training and technical assistance. The company, headquartered in Greenford, London, lists entertainment lighting, architectural lighting and rigging among its core business areas, with key personnel including Declan Randall in an outreach and training capacity. Previous festival seasons have seen similar support efforts from lighting suppliers and hire companies in Edinburgh, including White Light’s provision of full lighting and rigging across multiple venues for the Gilded Balloon in 2025, using ETC Nomad running Eos software.

The “ETC in Edinburgh” landing page and associated helpline represent a structured approach to scaling support during peak demand, centralising resources that might otherwise be scattered across product documentation, third-party tutorials and ad-hoc advice channels. By offering drop-in training at the University of Edinburgh, ETC is also leveraging an academic venue that is already embedded in the festival ecosystem, making it easier for technicians to access training between calls.

Prediction: how this development can affect festival technicians and production teams

This development is likely to have a measurable impact on festival technicians, lighting designers and production managers working in Edinburgh during the 2026 season. Direct access to ETC’s support team via the helpline and on-site visits should reduce the time spent troubleshooting complex Eos-based systems, allowing crews to resolve issues more quickly and maintain tighter show schedules. The availability of free, no-registration training sessions on topics such as Eos programming, magic sheets and data distribution may also upskill technicians who have limited formal training in these areas, potentially improving the overall technical standard of productions that rely on ETC equipment.

For venue operators and production companies, the presence of a dedicated support resource may lower the risk of technical failures during critical periods such as fit-up and changeovers, which are known pinch points in festival operations. Over time, if the initiative proves successful, it could encourage similar support models from other equipment manufacturers and suppliers, contributing to a more robust technical infrastructure for large-scale live events in the UK.