Edinburgh Mela is Scotland's biggest intercultural festival - a dazzling display of international and local talent - musicians, dancers and artists, crafts, fashion, food, bazaar, children's activities and sports. Held annually in Pilrig Park, at the end of the summer festival period, Edinburgh Mela 2004 attracted over 40,000 people.

It was founded in 1995 by members of Edinburgh's Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi communities, and one of its key objectives from the outset was to reflect and celebrate Scotland's cultural diversity, while retaining its roots in the South Asian communities.

Edinburgh Mela is a huge get-together of people from a wide diversity of cultural and geographical backgrounds. Headliners have included Shaan, Papa Wemba, Pankaj Udhas, Malkit Singh, Kavita Krishnamurti, Bappi Lahari, DCS, Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali Group, Black Star Liner and the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Other attractions have included colourful Rajasthani dancers with nine pots balanced on rheir heads, acrobatic boy dancers from Eastern India; giant puppets from Lahore; poster painters from Mumbai; a high flying aerial performer from Iran and colourful processions of local samba drummers and dancers. Then there's the mighty musical collaborations of 50+ musicians (led by Colin Blakey and Kim Ho Ip) playing an exciting fusion of rhythms and sounds from around the world.

Morag Neil has been co-ordinating Edinburgh Mela marketing campaigns - including branding, web site, outreach and press - since 1999.

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