MORE than 500 artists, performers, and audience members have called for the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) to cut ties with investment firm Baillie Gifford over allegations that it “directly profits from the ongoing genocide in Gaza”.
The Edinburgh-based investment company, which is listed as a supporting partner on the EIF website, is alleged to have been taking “profits from death and destruction and turn[ing] them into arts funding”.
An open letter, currently signed by some 556 artists and audience members, says that the links between Baillie Gifford and the ongoing genocide in Gaza are not “abstract”.
It says that Baillie Gifford invests in AeroVironment – a US-based defence contractor which reportedly makes drones used by the Israeli military – and Babcock International – a UK-based arms firm.
The letter states: “Baillie Gifford have invested over £60 million in Babcock, and in their own financial statements noted Babcock was the top contributor to returns in recent quarters – thanks to a surge in demand driven by war.”
The open letter goes on: “This is profit from genocide, redirected into UK cultural institutions like EIF.
“This is not just business – it is the financing of war crimes.
“Baillie Gifford takes profits from death and destruction and turns them into arts funding for institutions like EIF. This is institutionalised complicity. This is artwashing. No art made from this money is clean.
“EIF’s ongoing partnership with Baillie Gifford is not neutral. It is a choice – one that ignores the violence against Palestinians and the well-documented supply chains linking Baillie Gifford’s investments to the Israeli war machine.”
It concludes: “We, the undersigned, call on the Edinburgh International Festival to immediately end all partnerships with Baillie Gifford and to publicly commit to refusing funding from institutions profiting from arms, fossil fuels, and genocide.
“The eyes of the world are on Edinburgh this August. Let this be the moment we choose justice over reputation, integrity over comfort, and solidarity over silence.”
Responding, the EIF refused to end the partnership, arguing that losing the funding would reduce “the very spaces where difficult conversations, human stories, and critical ideas can be explored”.
A spokesperson said: “We share deep public concern about the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The right to speak out about such urgent issues, to protest and demand change, is fundamental to democracy.
“The role of the international festival is to give voice to artists, creating a platform to ask important questions with nuance and empathy. Our 2025 programme presented 2000 artists from around the world, including Palestinian voices, who tackle many pressing global subjects head-on.
“We appreciate that views on arts funding are deeply felt, however targeting arts organisations threatens our ability to function, and ultimately reduces the very spaces where difficult conversations, human stories, and critical ideas can be explored. Art can cross boundaries and change minds in ways that politics cannot.
“Our responsibility is to ensure the future of the festival, so that we can continue to be a space for artistic reflection and international reconciliation, while offering transformational experiences to our audiences. To do this we must secure funding from a balanced mix of public and private sources.
“Support from long standing donors such as Baillie Gifford enables us to sustain our artistic ambition, remain accessible to the widest possible audience, and contribute meaningfully to international dialogue as well as Scotland’s cultural landscape.”
Baillie Gifford declined to comment.
Last year, the Edinburgh International Book Festival ended its 20-year partnership with Baillie Gifford after pressure due to alleged links to Israel and fossil fuel firms.
The festival said it had taken the decision after concluding that its ability to run successful events had been “severely compromised following the withdrawal of several authors and threats of disruption from activists”.
Also in 2024, the Wigtown Book Festival and the Borders Book Festival also both ended their relationships with Baillie Gifford after scrutiny of the investment firm.
According to its website, Baillie Gifford manages £209 billion in assets and employs 1600 people.
