Venues in Tayside should be used to host a geographically-expanded Edinburgh Festival, it has been suggested.
The Discovery and Dundee’s jute mills, as well as Gleneagles Hotel, have been suggested as hosts for shows.
The idea has been floated by Paul Bush, head of EventScotland, who says he wants to see it broaden its reach ahead of the 70th anniversary in 2017.
Mr Bush has been one of the key figures involved in staging events such as the Commonwealth Games and the MTV music awards.
He said organisers should “think outside the box” and “take more risks”.
Dundee games guru Chris van der Kuyl of 4J Studios backed the idea.
He said the recent popularity of major shows like the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Christmas Lecture featuring internet sensation Stampy Cat proves there is an appetite for it.
He said: “I have no doubt it would be well received.
“The Edinburgh Festival is an international phenomenon, and with Dundee’s current cultural revival it would be fantastic to see that extend and become something spectacular for Dundee, too.
“The festival is notorious for using little-known or unlikely venues and in Dundee we have a lot of spaces that could be turned to things like that.
“We could use the new High Mill at Verdant Works, or how about using the Discovery for a venue? We could do something on the ship.”
The cities already work closely on events, said Peggy Hughes, organiser of the Dundee Literary Festival.
She said: “If people from all over the world are visiting Edinburgh then Dundee is just a stone’s throw away.
“The more we can join forces the more we can achieve.”
Anna Day, head of Dundee Unesco City of Design team, said the idea has merits but Dundee must maintain its own identity.
She said: “I am delighted that people are looking at Dundee as a key part of Scotland’s tourism offering. There is plenty of potential but I would like to see it as a Dundee festival.
“While we welcome all new ideas we are keen to focus on our own home grown projects, such as the Design Festival next May.
“We will see more activities taking place in Dundee over the next few years.
“EventScotland have been really supportive of the changes we are making in Dundee and I would be happy to work with them in the future to see what more we can offer.”
Mr Bush, who was involved in organising the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, said the new 2,250-capacity arena recently built at the luxury resort would also be ideal.
Dorothy Welsh, marketing director at the resort, said: “We would be delighted. We are very keen to get the space used and our location is easy to get to from all major locations in Scotland.”
Mr Bush said: “The Edinburgh Festival is now a huge event, but why can’t it cascade into other parts of Scotland?
“Why can’t it be in Glasgow, Dundee, Stirling, Aberdeen and Inverness? We’ve got to think outside the box a bit.
“It is about finding different angles and it’s also going to be increasingly more important to be smarter in the way we work in partnership.
“Funding will be a real challenge that the Edinburgh festivals are going to have to face over the next five years.”