The crisis 'slowing killing' the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
They have spoken out ahead of the launch of the official programme for the 2025 Fringe, which is expected to be boast one of the biggest line-ups of shows in the event's 78-year history.
Read more:
Leading figures have lifted the lid on the impact of soaring accommodation bills, infrastructure costs and city council permits on the festival, which has been valued at more than £200 million for Edinburgh's economy.
There is also widespread anger over the prospect of concerts at Murrayfield Stadium, where Oasis and AC/DC are due to appear in August, clashing with the Fringe for the first time, while new city council restrictions on the short-term letting of properties are also said to have contributed to the costs crisis.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has been running since 1947. (Image: Simfo)
One venue operator warned the Fringe was walking a 'precarious tightrope' that was becoming more dangerous every year.
The Herald has been told growing incentives are having to be offered to artists and companies to persuade them to take part in the Fringe, with many performers are said to be opting for shorter runs for their shows to try to keep their costs down.
The Pleasance Courtyard is one of the most popular venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Picture: Supplied
The new chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, Tony Lankester, warned last month that the success of the event was being 'taken for granted.'
Anthony Alderson, director of the Pleasance Theatre Trust, which has been running Fringe venues for more than 40 years, said: 'The risks and individual losses are now too great for artists and venues alike. The Fringe is walking a precarious tightrope that becomes more vulnerable year on year. We have to take action rather than putting our heads in the sand.
'The current model is a shared problem that we can only solve collectively with businesses and home-owners in the city. We have to do something to bring the cost of accommodation down.
'By having made it so expensive to be here during August, for visitors and performers alike, we are slowly killing the Fringe.
'The Fringe is walking a precarious tightrope that becomes more vulnerable year on year. We have to take action rather than putting our heads in the sand.'
Producer James Seabright said: 'It is clear that many challenges face everyone involved in the world's biggest arts festival.
'All the city's summer festivals will wither on the vine if the city prices out visitors who normally travel to attend the Fringe.'
Katy Koren, Gilded Balloon's artistic director said: 'The financial model of the Fringe isn't broken, but it is at risk of collapse.
'It has become a lot harder to persuade artists to come to the Fringe. Its value to artists is massively in doubt now and is more in doubt every year.'
Producer Richard Jordan said: "I do think that 2025 could finally be the straw that breaks the camel's back."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
29 minutes ago
- Wales Online
the cheapest resale tickets for opening dates as fans are warned
When the famed Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel, announced their Oasis reunion and the subsequent Oasis Live '25 tour, there was a mad scramble for tickets. But many fans were left without. The Oasis reunion tour is due to kick off in Cardiff on Friday, July 4, and Saturday, July 5. If you're still searching for tickets, there are several options available. Tickets can be bought from the official Ticketmaster resell site, Viagogo, Vividseats, See Tickets, StubHub, Seat Unique, and Twickets. However, fans should always bear in mind that many official sites, such as Ticketmaster and Live Nation, discourage the purchase of resale tickets. READ MORE: Cardiff Bus issue update over Oasis Principality Stadium gigs LATEST: Oasis in Cardiff 2025 guide to how to get to the Principality Stadium and where to park Here's everything you need to know about how to get VIP tickets from Seat Unique, as well as tickets from other sites. Seat Unique Seat Unique offers a variety of exciting ticket options, including complimentary food and drink, early entry, lounge seating, box views, and much more. On the Seat Unique website, there are no VIP tickets showing for the first night at the Principality Stadium, which is Friday, July 4. However, fans who want to find out more about VIP tickets for the Friday night can inquire on the website, which you can find out more about here. Alternatively, VIP tickets for the second night start, which is Saturday, July 5, are priced at £654. According to Seat Unique, this includes access to an exclusive lounge with private bar facility, premium show ticket with a middle tier location, two course informal dining menu, complimentary bar of beers, house wines & soft drinks and the option to upgrade and purchase premium wines, spirits, and champagne. It also includes a DJ pre-show and digital ticketing. Additional information can be found here. Viagogo On Viagogo, the cheapest ticket for the opening night in Cardiff starts at £156, which you can find out more about here. But for the second night, it's now £237, which you can also find out more about here. Viagogo and resale tickets Sites such as viagogo, Stubhub, and Vivid Seats allow fans to buy resale tickets from other fans. However, it is important to note that ticket conditions often prohibit resale after initial purchase. Those tickets may not be valid for admittance to gigs. Fans intending to buy tickets for live events through resale websites should check the ticket terms and conditions, to confirm whether resale is prohibited, before they buy. Ticket terms and conditions can be checked with the original seller, such as Ticketmaster or Live Nation. If resale is prohibited, tickets bought second-hand could be voided and admission to the event refused. Vividseats VividSeats has tickets for the first night starting at £235, find out more here, and for the second night, they start at £246 - find out more here. StubHub StubHub has tickets for the first night with prices beginning at £288, which you can find out more about here, and for the second night, tickets start at £297 - find them here. To keep up to date with the latest Cardiff news, sign up to our new newsletter, The Cardiff Drop, bringing you all the news you need to know, across the city. Ticketmaster Ticketmaster is offering verified resale tickets, with prices kicking off at £456.49 for the opening night, available here. Moreover, official resale verified tickets for the second night are up for grabs starting from £456.49, which you can discover more about here. Twickets There are currently no resale tickets available on Twickets for either Friday, July 4, or Saturday, July 5.
Edinburgh Live
42 minutes ago
- Edinburgh Live
BBC EastEnders star 'crazy' as one-woman show set to debut at Edinburgh Fringe
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A BBC EastEnders star is set to take her one-woman show to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer. Speaking on This Morning, Michelle Collins who plays Cindy Beale in the popular soap, said "she knows she is crazy" for performing at the festival. The 63-year-old actress admitted she always wanted to go to the Fringe but the opportunity never happened. Now she is set to be in the capital from July 30 to August 25 as she makes her debut in 'Motorhome Marilyn'. Speaking on the ITV daytime show, Michelle said: "BBC have kindly given me one month off to do the Edinburgh festival and I have never done it. "I always wanted to go and it didn't happen and then this opportunity came up. It's a play called Motorhome Marilyn. "I met this woman who was dressed as Marilyn and she was my kind of age and she was driving a motorhome in LA by the Chinese Theatre. "I was really intrigued by this woman. How did she get to this place? Who is she? "I never saw her again and then I wrote a play about her. I know I am crazy, I am mad. Don't worry because if you don't like Cindy it doesn't matter because I am not Cindy, I am playing someone else." A description of the show on Gilded Balloon reads: "Michelle Collins makes her Edinburgh Fringe debut in Motorhome Marilyn, a dark comedy by Ben Weatherill. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox "The play follows Denise, an aspiring actress with an obsessive relationship with Marilyn Monroe, hoping to live up to the icon's fame and beauty. In the 1980s, she heads to Hollywood, but as her dreams falter, she is forced to confront the painful truth of unfulfilled aspirations. "Inspired by Michelle's real-life encounter with a woman known as Motorhome Marilyn, the play reveals the toll of living in the shadow of an icon, exploring failure, aging, and the heartbreaking cost of unattained dreams." Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. Michelle Collins has many notable TV roles including in the BBC dramas Real Women, Sunburn and Two Thousand Acres of Sky. She first appeared in Eastenders in 1988. You can find out more about the show here.
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Festival Fringe in danger of becoming 'one monologue festival' due to soaring costs
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The head of a major Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue has warned the event is in danger of becoming a 'one monologue festival' due to the soaring costs of performing in the Scottish capital. Speaking on Thursday at the launch of Love the Fringe, a cross-venue membership scheme created to attract financial support to the festival, Pleasance director Anthony Alderson insisted 'we need to re-examine the [Fringe] model" as artists scale back shows due to affordability. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He warned it had "never been more expensive to bring a show to the Fringe" and said producers were bringing smaller casts, cutting the length of runs and had "less technical ambition" because of the rising costs of accommodation in the city. Mr Alderson, who revealed he had got his first job at the Fringe when he was 15 - having lied about his age - warned 'people are swapping production values for somewhere to sleep'. He said: 'It has never been more expensive to bring work to the Fringe. Costs have soared - accommodation, travel, marketing, everything. And something has to give. We have to re-examine the model. Anthony Alderson warned performing at the Fringe is becoming too expensive, | EdFest 'We're seeing more shows, but shorter runs. Smaller casts, less technical ambition. People are swapping production values for somewhere to sleep. We're losing job opportunities for emerging talent, both on and off stage. If we're not careful, we'll become a one-person monologue festival. That's not good for artists. That's not good for audiences. And it's not good for this city.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Alderson added: 'This isn't just entertainment. It's cultural identity. And yes - it's getting harder to sustain. Pleasance director Anthony Alderson | Contributed 'Culture is our soft power. If we want to push back against populism and division, the arts are one of our best hopes. This isn't something we add on to life — this is life. It's the fabric of a healthy society. Lose that and we lose something essential. Big stadium concerts at Murrayfield might be exciting — but they miss the point.' Mr Alderson called on local businesses to support the Fringe. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Anthony Alderson is director of the Pleasance. | EdFest He said: 'That's why we launched Love the Fringe - because this work matters. And it needs to be supported - properly. Funded, respected. But by whom? 'We're calling on local businesses - you benefit from the Fringe, you have a stake in its future. The city's hotels, bars, taxis and restaurants flourish every August. So let's not take this for granted. Let's invest in the artists who make it all possible. The success of the Fringe is the success of Edinburgh.' Mr Alderson also called for more state financial support, particularly from Arts Council England. The Fringe Society earlier this year was given multi-year funding from Scottish Government-funded arts body Creative Scotland. He said: 'International support is flowing in. Countries around the world recognise the global value of this festival. But one country is noticeably absent: England. Where is Arts Council England in all of this? Why is the nation that benefits most from this platform not stepping up to help sustain it?' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Love the Fringe, launched last year, was created to boost visibility for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, champion artists and offer a win-win model for both audiences and performers.
