Entertainment
Edinburgh Fringe ‘in jeopardy over slow ticket sales’-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro
Producers say ticket sales are 30% behind what they were three years ago.
Organisers are trying to stay positive (Picture: Getty Images)
The recovery of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is on a ‘knife-edge’ following slow ticket sales – amid fears the cost of accommodation in the city could be putting off visitors.
Promoters and producers have issued a rallying call for people to back the event, which will boast 3,364 shows when it returns next month.
The Fringe is said to have been badly affected by a trend for booking later for live events, which has emerged across the UK following the pandemic.
Fears over the cost-of-living crisis the price of overnight accommodation are also thought to have dampened demand for tickets.
In 2019, the festival attracted a record-breaking three million visitors – but producers said ticket sales are 30% behind what they were three years ago.
William Burdett-Coutts, Assembly’s artistic director, said: ‘We’ve been tracking just above 2018, but nowhere near 2019. However, that curve has been narrowing over the last couple of weeks.’
They say the cost of living crisis has impacted people’s willingness to buy tickets (Picture: Getty)
‘We’re about 30% behind 2019 at the moment.’
He added: ‘Inevitably, a lot of launches have been late, so I think that has had an impact’, saying he’s ‘concerned’ that ‘we’ve not all got our act together about marketing the whole festival’ ahead of its return.
Burdett-Coutts believes in attracting ‘the local audience’, but is worried that the main audience primarily comes from outside Edinburgh, and there might not have been ‘enough noise’ to alert them to the fact that the festival is back on.
‘Across the industry, the general trend is for booking late. People perhaps don’t want to go to something unless they are certain it is happening,’ he said, claiming the ‘whole mood’ might have changed following inflation.
Anthony Alderson, artistic director at the Pleasance, also acknowledged that sales are ‘slower’ than usually, but assures that everyone he has spoken to is ‘bursting with excitement for our return’.
The Fringe will return this year for the first time since the pandemic hit (Picture: Getty)
Alderson says organisers ‘have to understand that people have changed their behaviour’ since the pandemic, stating that ‘numbers are growing every day’.
He also urges people to ‘take a small risk’ and buy tickets to enjoy the festival, rather than just gathering in beet gardens.
‘There truly is something wonderful to see for everyone.’
But, the ‘long-term future of the festival is not currently sustainable’ following the ‘difficulties’ faced by the industry over the past three years.
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Alderson adds: ‘We must think positively, but recovery will take time, it can’t be achieved in one year.’
Founders are also clinging on to the success of Glastonbury Festival this year after its mighty return for the first time in two yeards.
They describe Glasto as ‘an amazing success’ and predict the same could happen for the Fringe.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Edinburgh Fringe for comment, but is yet to receive a response.
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