Briefs in the post as Fringe aims to stage a comeback

Published on Tuesday 22 July 2008 22:06

THE first batch of Edinburgh Festival Fringe tickets are due to be posted out this morning, organisers have insisted.

Almost 30,000 tickets for shows next week, when hundreds of preview performances get under way, were due to go out first class.

However, organisers were last night still unable to say when the remaining 130,000 tickets already booked for shows would be sent out. And they were still unable to issue paper tickets at the Fringe box office yesterday or say when the full system would be up and running.

The Fringe had to suspend phone and over-the-counter sales on Sunday and Monday in an attempt to resolve the latest glitches in its box office system, which has been dogged by problems since sales opened in early June.

Crisis talks were held between Fringe officials and venue staff at the weekend to discuss contingency plans, including having all tickets booked through the Fringe office available for collection at venues. Although many bigger venues have their own box office systems, all shows in the Fringe programme can be booked via the official box office.

Despite having to suspend all sales for a week last month, the Fringe had sold more than 160,000 tickets by the end of the week.

Fringe director Jon Morgan last night said: "Everyone involved with the Fringe is working hard to address the situation and this announcement is a reflection of how seriously we are treating this.

"We're working hard to get tickets to people as quickly as possible."