St Magnus International Festival

What St Magnus International Festival does

St Magnus International Festival is a Scottish registered charity (SC011666) that stages an annual midsummer arts festival in Orkney, Scotland, founded in 1977 by composer Peter Maxwell Davies and poet George Mackay Brown. The festival presents approximately 40 events annually across music, theatre, dance, literature, cabaret, folk music, and community projects, drawing 7,000+ attendees across 17 venues in 2025, with a programmed Festival Chorus of 90-120 members and 100+ volunteers supporting operations.

The festival's product portfolio centres on the live programme but extends into digital distribution via the Festival on Film content series, an e-commerce merchandise shop, a two-tier MagFest membership (£125 standard, £275 Gold), paid professional courses such as the Orkney Accordion Course (£300 tuition), and poetry/composition competitions. Technology infrastructure consists of standard third-party platforms: TicketSource for ticketing, Mail Chimp for email, and a CMS-managed website with online shop. Underlying operating costs inject approximately £1.3 million annually into the local Orkney economy.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid charitable model: ticket sales (20% of funding need), Creative Scotland public funding of £190,000 annually through 2027, corporate sponsorship, donations via JustGiving, membership subscriptions, merchandise, course fees, and competition entry fees. The festival has no parent company, is governed by a Board of Management led by Chair John Rendall, and operates a small core team including Festival Director Alasdair Nicolson and Festival Manager Charlotte Rendall. End-customers fall into distinct segments: visiting arts audiences, the Orkney local community, musicians/students on professional courses, writers in competitions, and corporate sponsors. The 50th anniversary festival is scheduled for 19-28 June 2026.

Name

St Magnus International Festival

Legal name

St Magnus International Festival

Website

https://stmagnusfestival.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St Magnus International Festival is a Scottish charitable arts festival, founded 1977, staging annual midsummer performances in music, theatre, dance, literature and cabaret across 17 Orkney venues. It serves visiting arts audiences, the Orkney community, musicians, and writers, with 80% of funding from grants, sponsorship, donations, and membership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Festival

NAICS

Other Performing Arts Companies (711190), Musical Groups and Artists (71113)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Music & Dance Festivals (Non-Commercial/Local) (MPAGAEAH), Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG), Virtual Community Festivals & Cultural Events (Online Celebrations) (MPAGAOAK)

Keywords

• Performing arts festival
• Classical music events
• Community choral programmes
• Arts education workshops
• Cultural festival management

Headquarters

HQ city

Kirkwall

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Live event tickets for performances across multiple venues in Orkney. Banded pricing with concessions for students and unemployed. Provides only 20% of total festival funding.
2. Membership (Magfest): Annual memberships offering priority booking, exclusive events, and merchandise discounts. Standard membership £125, Gold membership £275.
3. Donations: Charitable donations from individuals supporting the arts festival. Processed through JustGiving platform.
4. Corporate Sponsorship: Business partnerships providing branding rights, exclusive experiences, hospitality, and learning opportunities in exchange for sponsorship.
5. Public Funding: Grants from Creative Scotland (£190,000 annually for three years 2025-2027), trusts, and foundations. Complements ticket sales to fund the festival.
6. Merchandise Sales: Online shop sales of festival merchandise including tote bags, water bottles, scarves, and posters/banners.
7. Education Programs: Course fees for specialized training such as the Orkney Accordion Course (£300 tuition).
8. Competition Entry Fees: Entry fees for poetry competition (£5 per entry).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

St Magnus International Festival is an annual ten-day midsummer arts festival staged in late June across multiple venues in Orkney, Scotland, featuring ticketed live performances in classical and folk music, theatre, dance, literature, cabaret, and community events. The festival also sells annual memberships (MagFest), operates a merchandise e-commerce shop, delivers paid music courses (e.g. the Orkney Accordion Course), runs poetry and composition competitions, and distributes on-demand video content through its Festival on Film streaming catalogue.

Product overview

St Magnus International Festival is an annual arts festival that serves as a single, unified event centred around Orkney's midsummer celebration. The core offering is the Festival Programme itself, featuring diverse events across music, theatre, literature, dance, and community engagement. Supporting products include the Festival Chorus (an annual choral performance programme), the Online Shop (merchandise sales), Festival Membership (MagFest tiers offering priority booking and exclusive benefits), Festival on Film (digital content and streaming), and various educational initiatives including the Orkney Accordion Course and Learning & Engagement Projects. The Festival also operates community showcase programmes like Johnsmas Foy and Orkney Tapestries, alongside charitable giving through Donations and St Magnus Angels sponsorship opportunities. The 2026 festival marks the 50th anniversary with special programming themes of MIDSUMMER NIGHTS, 59 DEGREES NORTH, and MADE IN ORKNEY.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• St Magnus International Festival Events Programme Annual ten-day midsummer arts festival staged in late June across 17+ venues in Orkney, featuring ticketed live performances in classical and folk music, theatre, dance, literature, cabaret, and community events. The 2025 edition staged 40 unique events with 7,000+ attendees. The 2026 edition (50th anniversary) runs 19–28 June.
• Festival Membership (MagFest) Annual membership programme offering priority booking, exclusive events, and discounts. Standard membership at £125/year and Gold membership at £275/year, with benefits including priority booking windows (2 or 4 tickets per event), member-only events, festival programme book, and merchandise discounts.
• Online Shop (Festival Merchandise) E-commerce platform selling festival merchandise including Eco Tote Bag (£6), Tote Bag (£3.50), Water Bottle (£7.50), Snood Scarf (£30), and Festival Posters/Banners (£7.50–£30).
• Festival on Film Online streaming and recorded content including the TELLING TALES concert films, Land Sea and Sky paid series, For the Islands I Sing poetry readings, Midsummer Nights performances, Fiddlers at the Harvest Home, GMB 100 George Mackay Brown centenary content, and Orkney Tapestries. Accessible globally with a Rover Ticket for virtual content.
• Orkney Accordion Course Professional four-day daytime accordion course held within the Festival schedule at St Magnus Centre, Kirkwall, led by internationally renowned tutors Karen Tweed and Karen Street, with tuition fee of £300 and limited places.
• Poetry Competition Annual poetry competition open to writers aged 16+ across the UK, with a £5 entry fee per poem and a maximum of three poems per poet. Entries are themed around the Festival's annual focus; winners are published and read online.
• Composition Competition 2026 Composition competition open to all ages to find a new work for the 50th anniversary Festival, premiered by the Hebrides Ensemble, themed 'AIR', for an approximately 5-minute piece scored for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano.
• Solo Performer of the Year Competition Competition run in partnership with Scottish Young Musicians to identify Orkney's Solo Performer of the Year, with the winner progressing to the national final and connection to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Quantifiable outcome

• £3 economic benefit to local community for every £1 invested in the Festival
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• StagecoachminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransportation partner providing additional bus services during the 50th Festival in June 2026, including S1 services between Stromness, Kirkwall and St Margaret's Hope, and dedicated shuttle services.
• Squeezebox MarketplaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting partner for the Orkney Accordion Course, providing resources or sponsorship for the professional music education program.
• Scottish Young MusiciansminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to host Solo Performer of the Year competition, connecting local Orkney talent to national competition and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
• Orkney Islands CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal government partner supporting the festival with venue access, community connections, and recognition as part of Orkney's cultural infrastructure.
• TicketSourcecoreTechnology or IntegrationOfficial ticketing vendor providing online booking platform for festival events through the website.
• Pier Arts CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFellow Orkney arts organization also receiving Creative Scotland Multi-Year Funding, sharing commitment to arts in the islands.
• Age OrkneyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership for Orkney Tapestries creative writing project working with staff and carers of dementia patients.
• Women's Aid OrkneyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership for Orkney Tapestries photography project working with staff and clients of Women's Aid Orkney.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Celtic Connections: Major annual winter folk, roots, and world music festival held in Glasgow. Comparable as a Scottish festival with international artist programming and Creative Scotland funding support, though larger-scale and urban-based.
• Luminate Festival: Scotland's creative ageing arts festival, held annually across Scotland in October. Comparable as a Scotland-based multi-arts festival supported by Creative Scotland funding and focused on community engagement.
• Hebridean Celtic Festival: Annual music festival held on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Comparable as a Scottish island music festival with similar remote-location logistics and visitor-economy impact, though focused on folk/celtic rather than classical arts.

Direct peers

• Glyndebourne Festival Opera: World-renowned summer opera festival in rural East Sussex, founded 1934. Comparable as a high-prestige UK summer arts festival in a non-urban setting with a strong membership and donor model alongside ticket sales.
• Hay Festival: Internationally renowned literary and arts festival held annually in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. Comparable as a multi-disciplinary festival in a small rural town with a strong literary programme and international audience reach.
• Aldeburgh Festival (Snape Maltings): Long-running UK summer arts festival founded by Benjamin Britten in 1948 in rural Suffolk. Comparable as a music-led festival in a non-metropolitan location with a heritage brand and year-round concert programming.
• Edinburgh International Festival: Scotland's flagship international arts festival, founded 1947, presenting a multi-disciplinary summer programme of music, theatre, dance, and opera. Directly comparable as a UK-based arts festival with public funding reliance and international artist bookings.
• Ryedale Festival: Annual summer chamber music and arts festival held in rural North Yorkshire. Comparable as a small-scale UK rural summer arts festival with a similar mix of ticketed concerts, educational outreach, and community participation.
• Cheltenham Music Festival: Annual UK classical and contemporary music festival, part of Cheltenham Festivals. Comparable in scale, multi-arts focus, and reliance on public/private arts funding for summer programming.
• Buxton International Festival: Annual summer festival in the Peak District town of Buxton featuring opera, music, and literature. Comparable as a small-to-mid-scale UK rural arts festival with similar public-funding reliance and creative programming ambition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/stmagnusfestival
• Xx.com/stmagnus
• Pinterestpinterest.com/stmagnusfestival
• Instagraminstagram.com/stmagnusfestival
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-magnus-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St Magnus International Festival