How major events affect the housing emergency

Edinburgh is turned over to tourism at certain points of the year. One of those times is during August, when six major cultural festivals bring hundreds of thousands of people to the city.

Since 2023’s festival season, Edinburgh council (as well as seven other local authorities) has had to acknowledge that they can’t meet their responsibilities to house people presenting as homeless.

Last November, Edinburgh council voted to declare a housing emergency. This means there isn’t enough long term or temporary housing available to meet the needs of the people of our city if they’re made homeless. To address this, people are often sent to stay in hostels and hotels – places that were not set up for anyone who might have support needs.

Edinburgh’s festivals impact on most people, if not everyone who lives here. It’s undeniable that they offer a huge boost to both the local and national economy. But on the other hand, when there’s a sudden influx of tourists, like during the summer festivals, Hogmanay, or big events, like Taylor Swift’s concerts, some of the hotels housing people experiencing homelessness are suddenly full of visitors to the city.

Consequently, people experiencing homelessness may find there’s nowhere available to stay. Or it could be that people who are temporarily housed in hotels are suddenly sharing a building with people on their holidays, and so living very differently to them.

Depending on your life and your perspective, Edinburgh’s vibrant cultural scene can be fun, joyful, interesting, busy, disruptive, annoying. In August, the city centre is significantly busier, louder, riskier and messier. For example, there are nightly fireworks and military flyovers at the Castle.

For lots of Edinburgh locals, when it gets a bit much, it’s nice to be able to hide at home. For many of the people who access Social Bite’s free food services, this often isn’t possible because they’re sleeping rough or in temporary accommodation.

For people who are sleeping rough, especially in the city centre, there are suddenly a lot more people out until the early hours. Lots of people who have been drinking, who can be loud, potentially aggressive, and who may not give much thought to anyone trying to sleep on the ground just next to them.

On an individual level, it may seem there isn’t much we can do to fix the broken housing system that’s created this situation. But we can always be mindful of others and show kindness.

When you’re out and about, notice if people are sleeping rough where you are. Try to show consideration as someone might feel unsafe due to the increase in people around them.

If you’re staying in a hotel that seems to house people, be aware of your noise levels when coming in and out. For children living in a hotel, remember that Scottish schools go back mid-August, so those children may have to go to school tomorrow.

What else can I do?

• If you come across someone who’s sleeping rough and you feel comfortable, you can engage them in conversation – they might appreciate your company. You can tell them about our free food services, which provide hot food and signposting to other support, twice a day, Monday-Friday.
• We advise leaving anything else to experts who have specialist knowledge and skills required to provide the correct support for that individual in that situation. If you’re concerned, you can contact Simon Community Scotland’s StreetWork outreach team on 0808 178 2323. If the person appears in danger, call 999.
• You can also always Pay it Forward, to help us provide our year-round free food services to people in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, as well as other work to help people experiencing homelessness across the UK. Either drop into our coffee shops or donate online.