Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe is best event on the planet – Steve Cardownie

There is no shortage of shows at the Festival Fringe that will captivate, delight and uplift their audiences – and long may it continue, writes Steve Cardownie.

Lonely Planet’s Ultimate United Kingdom Travelist, which ranks the 500 “most memorable, beautiful, surprising, and compelling experiences” throughout the UK, has confirmed what many of us have known for some time.

By placing the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at number one, it has recognised that the arts extravaganza is second to none and must surely go some way to convince critics that we are lucky to have such a fantastic event on our doorstep.

To receive the accolade of “the greatest show of arts and culture on Earth”, whilst beating the British Museum in London to the top spot, is a remarkable achievement and congratulations must go to everybody who contributes.

This year’s Fringe boasts more than 3,000 shows with 55,000 performances in more than 300 venues, with performers from 63 countries, which Lonely Planet acknowledges when it says: “Quite simply, the Fringe floods the city with art and nowhere beats it for spectacle or scale.”

The second week is now under way and despite many Fringe-goers’ best efforts, they can only scratch the surface of the spectacular programme on offer. But one thing is for sure – there is no shortage of shows that will captivate, delight and uplift their audiences.

Almost every art form is represented and given the expanse of the programme there is something on offer for everybody. Long may it continue.