THOUSANDS of viewers from throughout the world have tuned in to watch live sessions from the Edinburgh International Book Festival online.
People have watched the performances from as far away as Algeria, Brazil and Nigeria.
Highlights from the first few days of the virtual festival have included Ian Rankin, Julia Donaldson, Hilary Mantel, and Bumi Thomas.
Nick Barley, the festival’s director, said: “Now we’ve got a few days under our belt, we’re comfortable with the technology, audiences are joining us and still watching events in their thousands – exactly how many we don’t know yet, there’s a lot of analysis to be done, but significantly more than would fit into our main theatre in Charlotte Square Gardens and more than would pass through the gates of the Gardens on a daily basis.
“But more important than the numbers is the reach of the online festival.
“Not only are we seeing audiences tune in from around the world but also those closer to home who are unable to travel to Charlotte Square for a whole range of reasons – physical and economic.
“With all events free to watch and most available on demand they are all watching and engaging from the comfort of their own homes.”
The book festival’s sessions are free to watch live or on demand from its website.
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