Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Fringe dates ‘should have been changed’ to avoid Olympics clash

• Leading Fringe venue chiefs claim festival should have been moved to avoid clash with London 2012 Olympics

• Bookings in some Fringe venues down as much as 25 per cent in first week

• Edinburgh Book Festival and Edinburgh International Festival claimed ticket sale increases this year despite starting in week Olympics finished

Leading venue bosses have admitted it was a mistake to go head-to-head with the Games given the impact on ticket sales and the reduced level of media coverage for the festival.

They have also criticised the lack of high-profile marketing to promote shows in the first week of the festival, normally the peak period for the Fringe.

Promoters behind Underbelly and Assembly Theatre – both of whom suffered a drop in sales this year – say attempts were made behind the scenes to shift this year’s dates, but were rejected.

Despite claims that the festivals have been affected by the economic downturn, two events that started the same weekend the Olympics finished saw ticket sales increase this year. The Edinburgh International Book Festival reported a 3 per cent rise, while the Edinburgh International Festival, which runs until Sunday, is claiming an 8 per cent increase so far.

However, officials at the Fringe, which shared the same dates as the EIF until 1998, insisted it was “too difficult” to move them back for one year.

Bookings in some venues were said to be down as much as 25 per cent in the Fringe’s first week, but only ended up 1 per cent down across the festival, although some promoters admitted slumps of as much as 10 per cent. Audiences at around 700 free shows, which were part of the Fringe programme, were not included in the final tally, but tickets given away for more than 100 BBC shows at its venue at Potterrow were.

Underbelly director Charlie Wood said: “[The Olympics] was such a huge event that our ticket sales were always going to be affected. We were simply told it was too complicated to move the dates. We need to learn lessons for 2014 when the Commonwealth Games are in Glasgow, as they end during the Fringe’s opening weekend.

However, Neil Mackinnon, the Fringe’s head of external affairs, said: “It would have been very difficult to change the dates for one year as they are much affected by when the university term starts and the time it takes to take down all the venues.

“A lot of work went into ensuring that the Fringe was part of the Cultural Olympiad, we had much greater interest from overseas in the Fringe this year and we had extra marketing campaigns in London and Glasgow because the Olympics were on at the same time.”