Fringe ticket sales hit new high
Edinburgh Festival Fringe box office records were broken this year as over 1.8 million tickets were sold.
Compared to last year, ticket sales for the 63rd Fringe rose by 21 per cent, and were nine per cent higher than the Fringe’s best year for sales – which was 2007.
A fall in the number of international visitors was offset by record numbers of domestic attendees, according to event organizers.
Visitors to the Book Festival rose by seven per cent, and attendance at the Edinburgh Art Festival was up significantly as well.
Kath Mainland, the new chief executive, saw her first Fringe end on Monday night, and said that she was amazed by the energy and enthusiasm that went into producing the event, noting that for the three-and-a-half week period she witnessed work that was at times “incredibly challenging and often hugely moving.”
She added that all of those involved in the Fringe – from venue producers to promoters and performers to directors – were responsible for the success of the record-breaking event.
In all, 1,859,235 tickets were sold this year. Sales for last year’s Fringe were negatively impacted by problems with the new ticketing system.