Organisers insist Edinburgh Festival Fringe is still affordable as average ticket price is revealed

Organisers urge use of trains and trams to get home to keep their costs down

An acrobat from Circa’s Peepshow performs at Underbelly's launch in the McEwan Hall. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Organisers of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe have insisted the event is still affordable and accessible as they revealed that the average ticket price is less than £12 and encouraged people to take public transport home and attend more shows rather than fork out for costly accommodation.

Some hotels are charging £1000 for a two-night stay in the city this weekend, when the International Festival and the Fringe all get underway.

The cheapest stays available on the booking.com website ahead will still set potential festivalgoers back more than £400.

Comedy dance act TUTU perform at Underbelly's launch in the McEwan Hall. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

The Fringe Society is urging people to take advantage of the expanded tram system, as well as extra late-night train services to help keep their costs of visiting the event down.

They have suggested that people who live outwith Edinburgh can take advantage of the fact trams will be running through the night by park outside well outside the city centre.

Venue operators staging free shows say they will have more than 720 of them in their lines-ups, while more than 460 are being run on a pay-what-you want basis.

More than 700 free or "pay what you want" shows are in the official Fringe programme this year, which now boasts more than 3640 shows, the second highest tally in the history of the event.

The Fringe Society has also highlighted the discounts for local residents offered by some venues and the traditional “2 for 1” days at the beginning of next week.

More than 3640 different shows have now registered for this year’s Fringe – up from the 3013 from when the official festival brochure was published in June – with the current tally the second highest in the 76-year history of the event.

The late surge in demand has emerged despite warnings from leading venues that artists and audiences faced being “priced out” of the Fringe in future due to the soaring cost of accommodation.

The Fringe Society has revealed that advance ticket sales are running ahead of last year’s event, which was dogged by industrial action by rail workers and waste collection workers.

Some of the biggest acts on the festival are now charging more than £20 for a ticket for a one-hour show.

However the Fringe Society insists the huge range of events on offer helps peg ticket prices back.

Lyndsey Jackson, deputy chief executive of the Fringe Society, said: “Fringe venues, artists and the community at large see that in an environment where there is so much to choose from price is a part of that.

"While there are lots of options and difference price points, everybody is really mindful of how they fit into that market.

“I think that’s part of the reason why ticket sales are going well and audiences are coming back."

It is hoped the new tram link to the waterfront will encourage more local residents to attend the Fringe as well as make it easier for people living outside the city to enjoy a festival day out. Its operator has pledged to run the service round the clock on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Fringe Society chief executive Shona McCarthy insisted it had done everything possible to secure ringfence affordable accommodation this year.She said: “This festival works so hard to be accessible and affordable. Sometimes I think that it not recognised how hard everybody works on that.

"Our advice to people thinking about coming to the Fringe would be to get the tram or train back home. People can go and see extra shows for what they would pay for accommodation.

"We would always encourage people to get in touch directly with us and get the facts before settling on perception.”

Ms Jackson: “With the tram extension people can now park and ride at both ends of the city.

“It’s a good way to drive in from outside Edinburgh and make the most of the festival.

There is plenty to do in a Fringe day. If the trams are running all night. As long as you’ve got a designated driver you can still do the 5am Fringe experience if you really want to.”

Speaking at Fringe venue Underbelly’s launch, director Ed Bartlam said: "There are definite challenges in bringing shows to Edinburgh and doing what we all do. We are all aware of those and they are challenges we need to collectively need try to solve.

"But there is also a point to make about affordability. People sometimes say that the Fringe is very expensive to come and watch something at. I’m not sure that is entirely the case.

"Our average ticket price across all of our shows this year is £13.31 and 54 per cent of our shows have an average ticket price of £12. We do EH (postcode) tickets and we’re giving way 30,000 free tickets with the other venues we’re working with.

"I’m not saying it is easy and it obviously depends on how many shows you see, but I challenge anyone to go and see the quality of shows that are on offer at this festival for some of those prices. It is an amazing opportunity and I think that sometimes we need to celebrate that and really encourage people to come here.”

Free Fringe founder Peter Buckley Hill: said: “

We hope visiting audiences will come back to this unique festival, and of course we're happy to provide shows for the citizens of Edinburgh, whose support we appreciate.

The price of accommodation is a very important factor. If visitors to the city are priced out of their visits, then our efforts to provide good-quality shows with no admission charge are largely in vain and the whole Fringe is at risk.

"We have done our best to make the Fringe affordable for performers. Because if it's not, then performing is a rich person's luxury.”