Festivals Edinburgh has told MPs in the UK Parliament that festivals taking place in the Scottish capital face a number of mounting challenges, including high accommodation costs, increased event licensing fees, and more frequent adverse weather conditions as a result of climate change.

The list of challenges is set out in a submission to an inquiry by Parliament’s Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee on major cultural and sporting events in the UK.

Festivals Edinburgh, which represents organisers of various festivals staged in Edinburgh each year, says that together these challenges are calling into question the “very feasibility of our major events”.

MPs announced their inquiry into major events in July, saying that they wanted to assess “challenges faced by the industry” and “how the sector can tap into new opportunities for growth and collaboration”. The deadline for submissions to the inquiry passed last month.

According to The Herald, the Festivals Edinburgh submission includes a number of criticisms of government at a city, Scotland and UK level.

It criticises Edinburgh City Council over changes to permits and licences, which has increased the costs of licensing festivals, including for major events traditionally run for the “public good”, which it says are “unfairly penalised”.

It also says that major events in Edinburgh often find themselves “torn between the competing agendas of the Scottish and UK governments”, and having to navigate two separate “Brand Scotland” campaigns – one run by the Scottish government, the other by the UK government.

The high costs of accommodation in Edinburgh, for both performers and festival-goers, is a widely discussed challenge for the city’s festivals, of course.

Festivals Edinburgh writes, “The increasing costs in Edinburgh, especially of accommodation, are calling into question the affordability of Edinburgh as a major events destination and thus the very feasibility of our major events”.

The submission also discusses the impact of climate change, both on how festivals run their events, but also in the context of extreme weather conditions, which are becoming more common.

It states, “The reality is that climate change is already impacting outdoor events and we are increasingly seeing cancellations due to adverse weather conditions – such as in our recent show cancellations at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo”.

“This”, it adds, “has an immediate impact on income and expenditure, on spiralling insurance costs, and a potentially major reputational impact on audiences and spectators”.