It has been criticised as commercial and egocentric but philanthropy is emerging in at least one component of Edinburgh's festival season.
For every ticket bought for the Festival of Spirituality and Peace, a child in Malawi will be fed for a month.
The festival, one of a number running throughout August in the capital, includes high-profile international speakers such as Baltasar Garzon, the Spanish judge best known for indicting former Chilean dictator General Pinochet, philanthropist Sir Tom Farmer and philosopher Julian Baggini.
From each ticket bought, 50p will be donated to Mary's Meals, a project run by Scottish International Relief which feeds 200,000 schoolchildren in countries such as Malawi, Liberia, Bosnia and India.
The charity has received backing from Sir Tom Farmer and the Scottish Executive.
Victor Spence, head of the Edinburgh Inter-Faith Association and organiser of the events, hopes to inspire the organisers of the Edinburgh Fringe, and the book and film festivals to make similar donations next year.
"Once this year's festivals are over, we want to hold meetings with the other organisers to encourage them to follow a similar principle," Mr Spence said. "In the past the Fringe and festivals have been criticised for being overly commercial. This will add a philanthropic element."
Last year there were about 1800 different productions on the Fringe and about 17,000 performances.
Mr Spence believes the benefits of ticket contributions from so many people would be significant not only for charities and for the reputation of the festivals.
The organisers of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace hope to recapture the spirit of the original People's Festival, which was established in 1951 and ran for a week "to bring the Edinburgh Festival closer to the people, to serve the cause of international understanding and goodwill".
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