Hotels near the Imaginate Festival

Edinburgh hosts the annual Imaginate Festival, Britain's biggest performing-arts festival for kids. Leading international children's theatre groups bring wonder, drama and excitement to theatres around the city in productions for kids from tots to teens.

Toddlers take their first tentative dance steps at interactive shows, or marvel at ballets performed in spectacular, colourful costumes. Re-imagined fables and fairytales take older children on flights of fancy, while teens get their teeth into challenging dramas or their first astounding earfuls of opera.

Festival director Tony Reekie travels the globe to find the finest children's theatre productions for this inspirational event. Inventive puppet shows, mime and acrobatic productions excite young audiences, while dance's cross-generational appeal has made it a festival favourite.