Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Democracy Now! is broadcasting from Scotland at the Edinburgh International Festival, which features music, opera, theater and dance and is one of Europe's biggest arts festivals. We are joined by the acclaimed Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti, one of the most celebrated classical violinists in the world. She became the first woman and first Scottish artist to become director of the Edinburgh International Festival in 2022.

"I think what is quite unusual about the Edinburgh International Festival is the humanitarian mission that is woven into all of its origin rhetoric," says Benedetti. She explains that this year's festival focuses on the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. "We're not celebrating only dark or dazzling. We're trying to present these things alongside each other."

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