Festival's £5 tickets to be axed

But offering tickets to see some of the world’s greatest classical musicians for just 5 proved irresistible to Edinburgh’s orchestra and Opera buffs - and almost no-one else.

Now International Festival bosses are set to scrap the hugely popular late-night shows in a bid to boost their income this year as they struggle to balance their budget.

The move comes after a last-minute rescue package to allow this year’s programme to go ahead was confirmed by the Scottish Executive and the city council.

They had been warned by the Festival that "serious damage" would have been done to the event’s global reputation if major cuts had to be made to the programme.

Boosting ticket sales from 1.75 million to 2.11m is a key condition of the Festival receiving 600,000 in extra funding from the two bodies.

The council is also understood to be demanding that the Festival conducts a major review of its ticket prices, although the full impact of this is not likely to be felt until the 2006 event.

But the late-night concerts, last year billed as "a festival within a festival", have already fallen victim to the financial crisis. Backers believe that ticket income suffered as a result of the cheap shows.

A spokeswoman for the Festival said:

"The Festival has led the way in recent years in creating schemes which are aimed at new audiences, including programming specific performances which cost just 5.

"This year’s Festival will see this work continue, looking to develop the audiences attracted through these schemes by drawing them into the main Festival programme, rather than necessarily programming separate events."

Further details on the initiatives which will be used in a bid to broaden access are expected to be revealed next month.

Venues across the city, including the Royal Lyceum Theatre, the Usher Hall and the Playhouse hosted the Royal Bank Lates shows last year.

But research commissioned by the Festival is said to have shown that instead of attracting first-timers to events, most of those taking advantage were regulars.

Late-night cut-price concerts at the Festival were pioneered at the Usher Hall by director Brian McMaster in 2002 as part of a drive to break down "perceived barriers" to people attending events.

The following year saw the Festival stage free shows for people under 26 and sell remaining tickets for just 5 on the night.

Last year saw Mr McMaster revive the late-night performances, although this time they were rolled out to a string of top venues. At the time, the Festival said the Royal Bank Lates were aimed at capturing new audiences to the various art forms on offer in the programme, offering people "the quintessential festival".

Speaking after a showdown meeting between the Executive, council leaders and Mr McMaster yesterday, Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson said: "I stressed that as a condition of our assistance, as many Scottish people as possible have the opportunity to experience the Festival."

Council leader Donald Anderson said: "I’m pleased we’ve got agreement on the way ahead and secured the continued success of one of the world’s leading events.

"We’ve agreed a number of developments in the operation of the Festival and made it clear that we deeply regret the way that the funding bid has been made."

Mr McMaster said: "We’re deeply grateful for this support for the Festival’s programme and the minister’s endorsement of our commitment to excellence and access."