Bail-out for the Fringe 'may top £500,000'

Published on Monday 15 December 2008 21:22

THE financial bail-out for the Edinburgh Fringe in the wake of last year's box-office disaster is likely to be more than £500,000, The Scotsman has learned.

Sources say the 250,000 rescue package revealed last week will almost certainly have to be doubled to stave off meltdown over the next few months.

City council officials, who have been in lengthy talks with festival organisers over the cash crisis, admitted last week that another bail-out might be needed before the end of the current financial year.

Insiders say it has been revealed privately that at least another 200,000 will be needed to ensure the Fringe is on a firm financial footing by the beginning of April, when the official programme is finalised.

Meanwhile, the Fringe is facing claims that theatre groups will shun the festival this year, because of delays by performers receiving payments for shows.

It is understood several leading venues have been late in paying actors, musicians and dancers, because of the Fringe's cash-flow problems.

City of Edinburgh Council, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Arts Council have agreed to step in to rescue the world's biggest arts festival, after it was brought to the brink of collapse by a series of box-office failures.

Scottish Enterprise has agreed to chair a task force set up to resolve the financial crisis at the Fringe, the true extent of which is not likely to be known until the new year.

Much of the Fringe's income is not expected to start coming into the coffers until April, when the official programme goes to press.

A source close to the Fringe said: "They're still looking at a big black hole, and it'll be some time before they will be out of the woods. The council and the Scottish Government are fully aware that extra resources will almost certainly be required, and talks are still ongoing."

Although the city council has agreed to provide the Fringe with a 250,000 loan, at the moment the local authority's grant is still expected to be around 50,000.

The Scottish Government has not awarded the Fringe any extra funding, but has, instead, agreed to a "one-off" 60,000 advance of a 200,000 grant awarded for a showcase of Scottish work this summer.

The Fringe is expected to start moves to recruit its first-ever chief executive next month. Tim Hawkins, the acting general manager of the Fringe, declined to comment the claims last night.

Meanwhile, the Fringe has insisted that all venues have been paid all box-office revenue that were owed to them from this year's festival.

Festival organisers have been under fire from producer Martin Witts, who brought Joan Rivers to the Fringe this year.

He said that growing numbers of companies were questioning the value of a trip to Edinburgh, because of the problems with the box office last year and the soaring costs involved in staging shows.

Although some companies and performers are understood to be still out of pocket, the Fringe insists all venues were paid in full at the beginning of November.

BACKGROUND

FRINGE officials were under siege from the day sales opened at this year's festival due to a malfunctioning box office.

During three months of chaos, sales had to be suspended several times, the Fringe missed a crucial deadline for sending out pre-booked tickets, and venues had to bring in extra staff to sell tickets. A series of reviews were ordered, one on what went wrong and who was to blame, one to recommend a system to be used next year, one on whether the Fringe should have a director and one on whether the Fringe itself needed an overhaul.