The modern Beltane Fire Festival is inspired by the ancient Gaelic festival of Beltane which began on the evening before 1st May and marked the beginning of summer.
The current Beltane was started in 1988 by a small group of enthusiasts including Angus Farquhar of the musical collective Test Dept., choreographer Lindsay John, and dancers from Laban, as well as academics from the School of Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh. The event was intended as a celebration of traditional rituals as a local manifestation of an international spirit. Originally intended to take place on Arthur's Seat, the home of earlier Edinburgh Beltane celebrations, for practical reasons the location was moved to Calton Hill. Choreography, iconography and performance were moulded by the originators' research into historical accounts of Beltane and their own influences (e.g. Test Department's drumming, Trinidadian carnival, and ritual dance and performance).
The Beltane Fire Society, a registered charity that runs the festival, is managed by a democratically elected voluntary committee, and all the performers are volunteers who either join by word of mouth or by attending one of the advertised open meetings held early in the year. Senior performers and artists in the society help others through workshops with aspects of event production, prop construction, character performance techniques, team building, percussion skills and the health and safety considerations involved. The society has also held fundraising art and music events and has held a 'mini-Beltane' at a local AIDS Hospice, Milestone House.
Date | Departure | Arrival | Pilot | Aircraft | Landing rate | Distance | Flight time | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
19JUL25 1735Z | EBBR | EGPH | EDUARDO MARTINEZ HERDUGO | Boeing 737 MAX 8 (B38M) | -112 ft/m | 472 nm | 01:14 | View | |
19JUL25 1341Z | LFRB | EGPH | Delta Tango | Cessna 525C Citation CJ4 (C25C) | -52 ft/m | 487 nm | 01:29 | View | |
18JUL25 0010Z | EGGW | EGPH | Derrek Gardner | Airbus A319 (A319) | -196 ft/m | 294 nm | 00:49 | View | |
16JUL25 1632Z | EGAA | EGPH | Joe Delaney | Airbus A320 (A320) | -77 ft/m | 146 nm | 00:29 | View | |
13JUL25 1904Z | EDDH | EGPH | Wjat76 | Airbus A321 (A321) | -165 ft/m | 532 nm | 01:24 | View | |
12JUL25 1943Z | EGSS | EGPH | slyfox-Bert | Boeing 737 MAX 8 (B38M) | -102 ft/m | 323 nm | 00:59 | View | |
12JUL25 1435Z | EGSS | EGPH | Mapex | Boeing 737 MAX 8 (B38M) | -183 ft/m | 326 nm | 00:55 | View | |
09JUL25 1508Z | EGPE | EGPH | Ben Stratford | Beechcraft Super King Air 350 (B350) | -181 ft/m | 136 nm | 00:36 | View | |
07JUL25 2251Z | EKBI | EGPH | Markus Karlsson | Boeing 737-800 (B738) | -92 ft/m | 474 nm | 01:17 | View | |
06JUL25 2357Z | EGQS | EGPH | Titanman908 | Cirrus SR22 Turbo (S22T) | -83 ft/m | 178 nm | 01:03 | View | |
05JUL25 1733Z | LIRF | EGPH | Andy R [BAV001] | Boeing 737-800 (B738) | -165 ft/m | 1141 nm | 02:47 | View | |
05JUL25 0852Z | EGNM | EGPH | Xeromman | Cirrus Vision SF-50 (SF50) | -175 ft/m | 160 nm | 00:25 | View | |
02JUL25 1918Z | EGNM | EGPH | CPT Jose Collado | Embraer ERJ-190 (E190) | -133 ft/m | 174 nm | 00:38 | View | |
02JUL25 1915Z | EGNM | EGPH | Charliemenem | Airbus A321 neo (A21N) | -52 ft/m | 169 nm | 00:37 | View | |
02JUL25 1915Z | EGNM | EGPH | Tomas Pontetto | Embraer ERJ-190 (E190) | -138 ft/m | 166 nm | 00:34 | View | |
02JUL25 0610Z | EGNJ | EGPH | Razak | Piper Malibu Meridian (P46T) | -165 ft/m | 219 nm | 01:09 | View | |
02JUL25 0609Z | EGNJ | EGPH | KipOnTheGround | Piper Aerostar (AEST) | -83 ft/m | 220 nm | 01:09 | View | |
02JUL25 0607Z | EGNJ | EGPH | ChaseButters | Beechcraft 2000 Starship (STAR) | -168 ft/m | 225 nm | 01:06 | View | |
02JUL25 0605Z | EGNJ | EGPH | Jfoot709 | Beechcraft Duke (BE60) | -45 ft/m | 219 nm | 01:04 | View | |
02JUL25 0604Z | EGNJ | EGPH | Standard_Land | Mooney M-20 (M20P) | -64 ft/m | 223 nm | 01:03 | View |