A TV producer has been criticised online for suggesting that the Edinburgh TV Festival should be moved to the Midlands because it’s “far easier for people to get to”.
Correction: It's far easier for people in England to get to.
Guy Lambert, a producer and director from Wigan, claimed that moving the festival to Birmingham would make it “more accessible to the majority of people in TV”.
Writing on Twitter/X on Thursday, Lambert said: “The idea of everyone going up to spend a fortune on hotels and travel during this time is absurdly out of touch with the lives of people who work in it.
The Edinburgh TV Festival should be moved to the Midlands, making it more accessible to the majority of people in TV. The idea of everyone going up to spend a fortune on hotels and travel during this time is absurdly out of touch with the lives of people who work in it #EdFest
— Guy Lambert (@GuyLambertUK) August 22, 2024
“Preaching about diversity and ‘we’re aware the majority of you are out of work but hang on til 2026’ from a stage that most of us can’t afford to be anywhere near is just offensive. We could have a much better, bigger event somewhere cheaper.
“If the TV Festival was in Birmingham, we could have tonnes of fringe events with networking, readings of scripts, screenings of short films, all with a really positive vibe that is far easier for people to get to. Why are we not discussing this?”
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The suggestion hasn’t gone down too well, particularly with Scots.
Journalist Duncan Lindsay said: “Pretty much every TV event is in England, think you can let Scotland have one little bite occasionally.”
Assistant producer Kathryn Lou Wilson wrote: “I understand but usually Scotland is ignored by the wider industry, I say move it to Glasgow! During the Fringe in Edinburgh prices are insane.”
And filmmaker Alex Harron replied: “Yeah, move something from Scotland that does good for TV industry down to England. Can't we have anything?”
To which Lambert said: “I bet most Scottish TV people can’t afford the cost of going anyway.”
Lambert later responded to the online backlash, writing: “A few people seem to think I’m anti-Scottish for even suggesting this, but the fact is that the Edinburgh *TV* Festival is unsustainable as it’s unaffordable to most people in this money-poor industry.
“We need a solution (as does Edinburgh for its wider festival)”
He added: “That’s the last time I suggest something takes place in Birmingham…”
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