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 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16DEC24 1100Z | EDDK | EGPH | Thomas Stemmer | Airbus A320 (A320) | -164 ft/m | 578 nm | 01:38 | View | |
13DEC24 0953Z | EGNT | EGPH | Unknown | Socata TBM-850 (TBM8) | -125 ft/m | 104 nm | 00:32 | View | |
10DEC24 0842Z | CYQY | EGPH | Lunarjets | Cessna 700 Citation Longitude (C700) | -78 ft/m | 2347 nm | 04:54 | View | |
10DEC24 0609Z | EHAM | EGPH | -Kilian | Airbus A320 neo (A20N) | -151 ft/m | 381 nm | 00:58 | View | |
09DEC24 1717Z | EGNV | EGPH | Jose Luis G. | Beechcraft King Air 90 (BE9L) | -118 ft/m | 135 nm | 00:47 | View | |
07DEC24 1310Z | EGGP | EGPH | Rares | Airbus A320 neo (A20N) | -83 ft/m | 196 nm | 00:41 | View | |
06DEC24 1535Z | EGLF | EGPH | VAF155 Alberto | Boeing 737-700 (B737) | -181 ft/m | 315 nm | 00:18 | View | |
06DEC24 1405Z | EGVN | EGPH | Snow | Airbus A321 (A321) | -130 ft/m | 294 nm | 00:53 | View | |
03DEC24 1703Z | EGCC | EGPH | Grant Williams | Airbus A320 neo (A20N) | -141 ft/m | 192 nm | 00:39 | View | |
28NOV24 1710Z | EGNV | EGPH | Frank Nillies | Airbus Helicopters H-160 (H160) | -21 ft/m | 109 nm | 00:37 | View | |
27NOV24 0029Z | EGPH | EGPH | J.A. | Eurofighter EF 2000 / Typhoon (EUFI) | -193 ft/m | 165 nm | 00:28 | View | |
26NOV24 2236Z | EGSS | EGPH | Simon Davison | Airbus A320 (A320) | -148 ft/m | 319 nm | 00:56 | View | |
26NOV24 1717Z | EGSS | EGPH | Ganjaflames | Airbus A320 neo (A20N) | -31 ft/m | 315 nm | 00:55 | View | |
26NOV24 1353Z | EGSS | EGPH | Galox5 | Boeing 737-800 (B738) | -8 ft/m | 341 nm | 01:03 | View | |
26NOV24 1324Z | EGSS | EGPH | Bird | Airbus A319 (A319) | -92 ft/m | 314 nm | 00:54 | View | |
26NOV24 1005Z | EGSS | EGPH | Jakky | Cessna 700 Citation Longitude (C700) | -35 ft/m | 310 nm | 00:47 | View | |
22NOV24 0607Z | LFPG | EGPH | Luis Rodriguez | Airbus A320 (A320) | -130 ft/m | 497 nm | 01:26 | View | |
21NOV24 0037Z | LEBL | EGPH | Iñaki Turull Riu | Boeing 737-800 (B738) | -119 ft/m | 958 nm | 02:42 | View | |
18NOV24 1609Z | ENAL | EGPH | Phusin | Gulfstream Aerospace Gulfstream V / G550 (GLF5) | -78 ft/m | 578 nm | 01:24 | View | |
18NOV24 0420Z | ENAL | EGPH | Pramual Sennoi | Airbus A380-800 (A388) | -195 ft/m | 552 nm | 01:24 | View |