Jonathan Mills

Jonathan Mills, the Australian Director of the Edinburgh International Festival, set up home in the UK four years ago. In our short video he describes Britain as a diverse, welcoming, open spirited and curious place - a far cry from a country sometimes perceived to be "up itself". He believes Edinburgh at festival time epitomises these qualities. Watch the film below to find out more.

Since it first began after the Second World War, the Edinburgh Festival has become renowned as the epitome of cultural celebration, growing in popularity each year. Only the World Cup and Olympic Games sell more tickets. Jonathan attributes this success to the fact that since the Festival’s creation in 1947, people in the UK have enthusiastically opened their hearts and minds to it. They were and continue to be willing to share their culture and showcase that of others and then invite everyone along to see and enjoy it too.

Jonathan believes that at the Edinburgh Festival, visitors see Britain doing what it does well - letting its hair down. The Festival showcases the country's vibrant nature; a country with creative opportunities coming out of its ears that celebrates its multicultural society.

Born in Sydney, Jonathan studied architecture at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) focusing on acoustic design. He graduated in music from the University of Sydney, where he specialised in composition with Peter Sculthorpe before going on to become Artistic Director of the Melbourne International Arts Festival, the Melbourne Federation Festival, the Melbourne Millennium Eve celebrations and the Brisbane Biennial International Music Festival.

In parallel, Jonathan has nurtured a career as a musician and composer, creating a series of modern operas. He received the coveted Prix Italia for his Sandakan Threnody solo tenor, choir and orchestra in 2005.