Edinburgh Festival Fringe on brink of 'collapse' over costs crisis

The Herald Scotland

25-05-2025

When the event returns this August, it is expected to be as big as ever, with a programme boasting well over 3000 shows encompassing music, theatre, dance, cabaret, circus and comedy.
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But behind the scenes there are concerns that the financial model behind the festival is at real risk of collapse unless new support for the event can be secured.
Leading venue operators and producers have warned that the Fringe is on the brink of 'breaking point' due to the impact of dramatically escalating costs which will make the event increasingly unviable for key players in future years.
Katy and Karen Koren are joint artistic directors of the Gilded Balloon.
Edinburgh's popularity as a tourism destination, new city council restrictions on the short-term letting of properties and the impact of concerts at Murrayfield Stadium clashing with the Fringe for the first time have all been blamed for the crisis.
It is said to have forced many artists and performers to limit the runs of their shows, and for venue operators to take an increasing financial risk on their programmes.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has been running since 1947. (Image: PA)
William Burdett-Coutts, founder and director of Assembly Festival, which has been staging Fringe shows since 1981, told The Herald that venue operators were being "stretched to the limit."
He said: 'The whole economic model of the Fringe really is at the risk of reaching breaking point.
'Overall, I am looking at increased costs of more than £200,000 for this year.
'Almost all of our costs of hiring equipment and building venues has easily increased by 50 per cent since the pandemic.
'Our accommodation costs have increased by up to 100 per cent over the same period, depending on where it is.
'The average cost of a room in a flat for us was around £24 a night 10 years ago. That has gone up to around £85 a night.
'There are a lot less people doing the whole three weeks of the Fringe run. If someone is doing a shorter run they are effectively subsidising their show. It's not a good thing if the Fringe is increasingly reliant on people doing that and if shows are not working commercially.'
Katy Koren, Gilded Balloon's artistic director, said: 'The financial model of the Fringe isn't broken, but it is at risk of collapse.
"People use to come to the Fringe to do the full run of the festival. More and more people are wanting to do a few days or a week. We definitely don't have the same number of artists working with us as we used to.
'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.
'We have a really good programme for our 40th anniversary, but a lot of that work is being paid for by us in order to get people to come to the Fringe because we really care about it and believe in it.
"We are having to take a risk on shows more than ever rather than shows being a collective risk. It's a very precarious business model.
"We are being squeezed like nobody's business to give better deals to artists and more money to suppliers."
Sam Gough, chief executive of Summerhall Arts, which is in charge of Summerhall's Fringe programme, said: 'Things are getting tougher every year. The whole eco-system of the Fringe is so delicately balanced at the moment.
'The costs that venue producers are experiencing are escalating higher than we can justify in terms of increasing our ticket prices. Our margins are decreasing year on year.
'People are buying Fringe tickets later. We are definitely seeing more requests from artists to do shorter runs. That is making programming harder and it is getting harder for us to support artists.'
James Seabright has been producing shows on the Fringe for more than 25 years.
He told The Herald: 'It is clear that many challenges face everyone involved in the world's biggest arts festival.
'Since the full-scale Fringe restarted in 2022 after the pandemic pause, it has felt like Edinburgh has not been doing enough to support the vital contribution that the festivals make to the city.
'Decisions by the city council about how to implement the short-term let legislation have led directly to making it more difficult and expensive to stay in Edinburgh, both as a visitor and for participants putting on shows.
'The sad truth is that many hundreds of properties sit empty because landlords can't afford the time or money involved with the complexities of getting even a temporary licence.
"Costs for putting on shows have skyrocketed for other reasons too. The cost of licensing temporary theatres has gone through the roof.
'My immersive production of Trainspotting at the EICC has to pay the same substantial fee to get council approval for our small seating stands as the Tattoo does for their huge structures.
'This and other costs have pushed our budget for the show into six figures for the first time since I started producing it almost a decade ago. We are increasingly questioning whether it is worth the risk to bring it back.'
Richard Jordan, who has been producing Fringe shows since 1999, said: 'I do think that 2025 could finally be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
'New council housing policies which rightly protect long term local tenants have also affected anyone who may simply wish to short-term rent a place for the Fringe.
'What it's created is a reduction in availability within a market where demand was already not meeting supply. That has propelled rentals to what frankly feels like a level of profiteering amongst some landlords.
'One of the biggest challenge Edinburgh faces is that it needs to retain relevance at a time when there is a growth of Fringes elsewhere.
'What an Edinburgh season may cost is not that far off taking a show to Adelaide (or a decent venue elsewhere) that does not present the same levels of competition, but offer greater returns, means that Edinburgh cannot sit simply on its laurels of reputation or it will risk being left behind.'
There is dismay across the Fringe landscape about the potential impact of three Oasis concerts and an AC/DC show at Murrayfield being staged during the Fringe.
Mr Gough said: 'The Fringe did not need competition from these new concerts at Murrayfield. The high cost of accommodation in August is not a new thinh.
'But the issue with the Oasis and AC/DC gigs is that they will be filling the city with people who will realistically only be here for one night to go to a concert.
'I'm not worried about those concerts affecting Fringe ticket sales. But they are affecting the cost of accommodation for artists who want to come to the Fringe.'
Mr Jordan said: 'The council can certainly argue that these concerts bring a boost to the city with the numbers attending them.
'What it potentially risks leaving on those days is a lot of artists in the city but not a lot of audience. The argument that these concert attendees will be encouraged to see Fringe shows is also nonsensical.'
Mr Seabright said: 'Unfortunate scheduling of other major events such as concerts at Murrayfield presenting challenges to the Fringe and underlining the lack of a joined-up approach to planning for what the city can cope with during the busy summer months.
'All the city's summer festivals will wither on the vine if the city prices out visitors who normally travel to the Fringe.
'Edinburgh needs to behave more like the world city it has become as the festivals have supported its growth and popularity.'
The city council insisted it did not decide when concerts at Murrayfield would be staged, adding: 'The choice of concert dates is determined by factors like the touring schedule of artists and the availability of facilities."
Margaret Graham, the council's culture convener, told The Herald that she was "delighted" that Oasis had decided to stage shows in Edinburgh.
Ms Graham said it was "essential" for the council to strike a balance between its calendar of cultural events and "the wellbeing of residents who live here all year-round."
She told The Herald: "Measures like our short-term let controls are about keeping visitor accommodation safe and well managed in Edinburgh.
"We have made some changes to our policy this year following consultation with residents and the industry. This is to make our scheme as fair and reasonable as we can for residents, visitors and operators.'
"We're proud to host the world's best and largest collection of arts festivals, and the Fringe is an important part of this.
'In recognition of and support for its enduring importance, the council provides significant grant funding to the Fringe Society. The new Fringe HQ in Infirmary Street has been a collaboration between the council and the Fringe Society.
"This is in addition to considerable operational support from officers to help stage the event, from street management to public safety. All of this is in close partnership with event organisers.
'I am delighted that international artists like Oasis and Taylor Swift have chosen Edinburgh to host concerts. Of course, we know these events can have an impact on the city, and we continue to collaborate closely with Murrayfield and other partners to make sure they run smoothly."