The City of Edinburgh Council has confirmed that the Usher Hall will be available at full capacity for the Edinburgh International Festival. However, as a result of delays in the development programme, details of seating availability and front of house facilities from October 2008 are still to be confirmed by contractors.

The companies working on the £20m project have informed the Council that this information will available by the end of April.

Development plans were updated in November last year following the discovery of a range of difficulties with the construction site and these problems have now led to further delays in progress.

As a result, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO), who are set to announce their 2008/09 season on Tuesday 8 April, will delay putting tickets on sale for the Edinburgh season until information on progress is available. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) will launch their 2008/09 season on 16 April.


Deputy Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council Steve Cardownie said: "We are delighted to be able to confirm that the Usher Hall will be available at full capacity for the Edinburgh International Festival.

"We are committed to making the Usher Hall available for the RSNO and SCO for their new seasons and we are now in the process of working with our contractors to establish the exact condition that they expect the venue to be in from October 2008. We expect to be in possession of this information in a matter of weeks."

Simon Woods, Chief Executive of the RSNO, said: "We are 100% supportive of the Usher Hall redevelopment project, and are anticipating many years of great concerts in the redeveloped hall. We will be working very closely with City of Edinburgh Council to ensure the best possible conditions for the audience to enjoy the RSNO's exciting forthcoming season."

Roy McEwan, Managing Director of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, said: "We are working closely with City of Edinburgh Council to ensure it can complete the refurbishment of the Usher Hall as speedily as possible."

A dig into the basement in September 2007 revealed that foundations would need to be reinforced to support the new glass wing and the finding of unexpected rock formation resulted in structural engineers ordering deeper pilings to ensure the integrity of the building.

The project was adapted to take account of the situation but contractors now say that geological conditions and building structure issues are causing continuing delays.

Work will stop on a temporary basis for the 2008 Edinburgh International Festival as it did in 2007.

(GK/JM)