Record T on the Fringe ticket sales break 100,000 barrier

Published on 01/09/2006 11:47

RECORD numbers of tickets were sold for this year's T on the Fringe, organisers have revealed.

For the first time ever, the number bought exceeded 100,000, with a total of 60 gigs taking place over the month of August.

The gigs were brought to a close on Wednesday with a performance by Sandi Thom, who reached number one with her debut single I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair).

Dave Corbet, from DF Concerts, said: "We are over the moon at the success of this year's festival. To think that over 100,000 people attended the event is just amazing. Our outdoor shows just get bigger and better. This year will be a hard one to beat."

One of the main draws was a performance by Dundee University graduates Snow Patrol.

At the 22,000 sell-out Meadowbank Stadium gig on August 25, singer Gary Lightbody hailed the concert, along with gigs at Dublin and Belfast, as like "playing three home crowds".

Belle and Sebastian were one of the main acts to play Princes Street Gardens, where frontman Stuart Murdoch praised the surroundings, saying: "Well, this is a nice scene."

Meanwhile, ticket sales for this year's Edinburgh International Festival have broken through the 2.5 million barrier.

Takings for the flagship arts extravaganza are already more than 250,000 ahead of the final figure notched up last year. With several days still to go, organisers said they had sold more than 17,000 tickets so far.