Edinburgh Festival Fringe: New 'Festival Village' for performers to offer 500 rooms for under £270 a week

Queen Margaret University campus six minute train trip from Waverley Station

An official "Festival Village" offering cut-price accommodation for up to 500 Fringe artists and performers will be run on the outskirts of Edinburgh this summer.

The Fringe Society is joining forces with Queen Margaret University (QMU) to run the venture at its campus near Musselburgh. Organisers say the move is a "very positive step in the right direction" to tackling the cost of performing and working at the Fringe.

The university has highlighted the “vast amounts of stunning green space” which will be on offer at the Festival Village, while the Fringe Society has suggested artists “escape the bustle of the festival while having access to regular train, bus and night bus connections to the centre of town”.

An official 'Festival Village' will be run at Queen Margaret University for Fringe participants this summer. Picture: An official 'Festival Village' will be run at Queen Margaret University for Fringe participants this summer. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

A special rate of £269.50 a week is being offered for a private room within the shared student accommodation on the campus, which includes a self-catering kitchen.

The Fringe Society will be running special services and events at the Festival Village, which will have access to rehearsal spaces, storage facilities, a sports centre, an on-site cafe and free yoga classes.

The Festival Village, which will boast free parking and cycle storage, is opposite Musselburgh Railway station, which has regular services connecting with Waverley Station. Open mic and performance nights are expected to be staged at the on-site Maggie’s Cafe Bar.

The Festival Village initiative has been unveiled exactly a year after the Fringe Society warned the event was facing a “perfect storm” over the availability and affordability of accommodation for participants.

An official 'Festival Village' will be run at Queen Margaret University for Fringe participants this summer.

It has called for an “Olympics-style response” from the Scottish Government and Edinburgh City Council to help ensure the event is as affordable and accessible as possible in future.

There is believed to be demand for more than 50,000 beds each night in Edinburgh during the main summer festivals in August. There have been fears over the impact of the city's clampdown on short-term let operators on both the cost and availability of all forms of accommodation this summer.

The Fringe Society already highlights the most affordable deals through a dedicated portal on its website.

Chief executive Shona McCarthy said: “We are very excited about the prospect of a festival village at the Queen Margaret University campus – not just for the accommodation it offers, but for the opportunity it presents artists to find their Fringe community, to meet and connect with each other and add another layer of value to their Fringe experience.

An official 'Festival Village' will be run at Queen Margaret University for Fringe participants this summer.

“We are grateful to the team at the university for working with us on this imaginative collaboration as we explore longer-term opportunities to work with both the academics and the students at QMU.

“While encouraging, we know this development won’t magically solve all the accommodation issues faced by artists and venues. However, alongside our other ongoing efforts to secure accommodation options, while also lobbying on artists’ behalf with local and national government, it represents a very positive step in the right direction.”

Sarah Whigham, the university’s head of commercial services, said: "Festival participants who choose to stay in our accommodation can expect to benefit from excellent transport links into the centre of Edinburgh.

"It is a six-minute train ride from Musselburgh Station – located immediately next to the university – into Waverley Station, and we have a regular bus service coming onto campus approximately every ten minutes.

"Visitors can enjoy affordable rooms in shared flats in a safe and attractive campus environment with easy access to Scotland’s capital, as well as the beautiful East Lothian coast and countryside.”