We are delighted to share our Refugee Festival Scotland 2026 Impact Report. 

2026 was a truly special year for the festival, marking 75 years of the Refugee Convention and its enduring promise of protection, dignity and safety for people forced to flee their homes. 

The Festival also arrived at a moment when it felt needed more than ever. Against an increasingly hostile climate of fear, division and anti-refugee rhetoric, communities across Scotland came together to offer something different: solidarity, creativity, joy and welcome. Refugee Festival Scotland showed that we will not be defined by fearmongering, and that there is enormous strength in choosing to gather, celebrate and stand alongside one another. 

From 12-21 June, Refugee Festival Scotland brought people together through art, culture and community, with events taking place from the Borders to the Highlands. More than 13,363 people took part across the Festival, alongside an incredible 792 artists and creatives from 93 countries who helped make this year’s programme possible. 

Our Impact Report captures just some of the moments that made the 2026 Festival so memorable. Through stories, reflections and feedback from artists, organisers, volunteers, audiences and the Festival team, it celebrates the people behind the programme and the many different ways communities created spaces for connection, expression and belonging. It also reflects on the wider impact of a Festival rooted in the belief that Scotland should be a place where people seeking sanctuary are not only welcomed, but able to participate, create and thrive. 

A huge thank you to every artist, organiser, community group, partner, volunteer and audience member who made Refugee Festival Scotland 2026 what it was. The Festival belongs to the people who bring it to life each year, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who opened doors, shared stories, created work, welcomed neighbours and came together with us. 

You can read the full Refugee Festival Scotland 2026 Impact report here.