Authorities must tackle 'challenges' in performing at Fringe, chief executive warns, amid flat ticket sales
Ticket sales were flat for this year’s Fringe
The head of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has called on governments and Edinburgh City Council to tackle the “many challenges” faced by artists, producers and venues in performing at the festival.
Chief executive Tony Lankester said he wanted the UK and Scottish Governments to “explore ways to alleviate...challenges” as the Fringe Society revealed flat ticket sales on last year amid warnings over the soaring cost of accommodation in Edinburgh in August.
The figures showed around 2.6 million tickets were sold for 3,893 shows at this year’s event - a similar level to last year and well below the peak of three million sold in 2019, before the Covid pandemic.
In 2024, 3,746 shows were performed, however it has been claimed that more artists were scheduling shorter runs this year due to difficulties in affording to stay in Edinburgh.
Separately, the Edinburgh International Book Festival saw ticket sales rocket by 11 per cent on 2024 over this year’s event, including a “significant” rise in first time buyers, while footfall increased by 60 per cent with 25,000 visitors in a single weekend.
Meanwhile, the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) reported a record 88 per cent of all seats had been sold this year, while more than half the performances across its programme sold out.
Mr Lankester said: “What is clear is that the Fringe remains the most important cultural event in the world. Artists remain at the heart of this joyous festival, and we’re consistently in awe of their creative work which often tackles topical issues and examines them through a creative lens.
“We recognise the many challenges artists, producers and venues face in staging the event, and call on the City of Edinburgh Council, the Scottish Government and the UK Government to continue working with the Fringe community to explore ways to alleviate these challenges.”
He added: “There are no easy answers to the challenging cost of participating in the Fringe, but we know that the will is there to explore some innovative, high impact solutions, and we look forward to advancing the many conversations we’ve begun with stakeholders and partners. This year’s Festival Fringe has felt joyful and exciting, and we thank the artists, the hundreds of venues, promoters, producers, workers and teams that make this fantastic event happen every year.”
The Fringe Society said 301 venues had hosted a diverse selection of work across 53,942 performances in August. A total of 62 countries were represented on Fringe stages, with 17 international showcases at the forefront including Denmark, Australia, South Korea and Canada.
Meanwhile, the Pleasance lauded a record breaking Saturday in the middle of the Fringe, when it said 33,000 people had visited its Courtyard venue. Overall, the venue said more than 460,000 tickets issued across the Courtyard, Dome and the EICC.
Anthony Alderson, director of the Pleasance Theatre Trust, said the venue had won a record-breaking number of awards.
He said: “In a time of such turmoil, this programme has sparked important conversations while also offering moments of pure escapism through exceptional theatre and comedy.”
The book festival said female Scottish authors and independent publishers had topped its Waterstones bestseller lists, alongside event led hits like Katabasis by RF Kuang and Nicola Sturgeon’s memoir, Frankly.
This year’s book festival, which hosted over 650 authors and nearly 700 events in its second year in its new home at the Edinburgh Future’s Institute, welcomed over 25,000 visitors in a single weekend and a total of 161,889 people, an increase of 60 per cent compared to last year.
Its Front List series, which increased from eleven to fifteen in 2025, were popular, with over 12,000 people attending events at McEwan Hall, including talks from authors Ian McEwan and Maggie O’Farrell, political speakers Yulia Navalnaya and Nicola Sturgeon and the co-creator of beloved sitcom Gavin and Stacey, Ruth Jones.
Beyond the physical site, the festival’s digital reach expanded this year, connecting communities across 12 local authority areas by streaming events, free of charge, into over 40 libraries. In addition, a global audience of almost 19,000 from 63 countries across five continents tuned in for streamed events,
The EIF said over 111,000 audience members attended from 91 countries, including a 22,000-strong audience at Make It Happen, by James Graham, which told the story of the downfall of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
A flexible pricing system at the EIF, , meaning ticket prices could change after public sale based on performance popularity, saw half of all tickets were priced £30 or under, including over 5,000 £10 tickets which were offered across every performance in the programme. In partnership with Tickets for Good, over 1,000 tickets were also donated to NHS staff, charity workers and low-income benefit recipients.
A record-breaking 2,695 tickets were issued to young people from across Scotland to attend performances for free through the Young Musician’s Pass.
Festival director, Nicola Benedetti, said: “This year's International Festival has been one of extraordinary contrasts, from grandeur and scale to intimacy and informality. Through the theme The Truth We Seek, we were determined to challenge as well as entertain. In presenting innovative and risk-taking work we were able to spark debate, dialogue, and a healthy friction that audiences responded to in unprecedented numbers.
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