LONDON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 Edinburgh International Festival began Friday night with a free, outdoor performance celebrating Scotland's Year of Young People.

The opening event Five Telegrams is a unique collaboration between Anna Meredith, one of Scotland's most exciting contemporary composers, and Tony Award-winning artists, 59 Productions.

Inspired by communications found in the Imperial War Museum which document the experience of young soldiers at the end of the First World War, the piece explores ideas of propaganda, censorship and technology, and their startling resonance across 100 years to the present day.

It comprises a new work for orchestra, projected digital artworks on the Usher Hall and is experienced by the audience from Festival Square. The event is developed with contributions from Edinburgh-based young people, who co-design elements of the work and participate in it. Over 250 young people are taking part in the performance.

The festival, running from Friday to Aug. 27, welcomes 2,750 artists from 31 nations to perform in Scotland's capital city and attracts visitors from all over the world.

Also opened on Friday was the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which was established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival.

The Edinburgh International Festival is an unparalleled celebration of the performing arts and an annual meeting point for peoples of all nations. Committed to virtuosity and originality, the festival presents some of the finest performers and ensembles from the worlds of dance, opera, music and theatre for three weeks in August.