Why foreign artists may come to dominate Edinburgh Festival Fringe

A reduction in Creative Scotland’s budget of up to £10 million – incongruously announced by the government on the evening before the Edinburgh Festival Fringe began – caused uproar within the arts. Some of these cavalier cuts were abruptly reversed by the Scottish Government which bowed down to public pressure following protests last week. Culture Secretary Angus Robertson announced the restoration of £6.6 million for Creative Scotland, allowing the organisation to relaunch its £3m “Open Fund”, dedicated to providing substantial grants for local artists and performers.

However, while the reinstatement of funding support is welcome, Scotland’s arts community best not get too excited – after all, who knows what the next budget announcement will bring. The repeated funding U-turns have instilled a lack of trust in the community and called into question the government’s commitment to investing at least £100 million more annually in culture and the arts by the 2028/29 financial year, as pledged.

Under public spending pressure, the arts sector continues to be a political football. Complacent and influential policymakers proceed to make short-sighted decisions and clearly don’t champion or understand the sector, consistently overlooking its social and economic benefits to adjacent local industries.

Why are the government’s empty arts-funding promises the first to fail as soon as belts need to be tightened? It could stem from complacency within the industry arising from impressive year-on-year statistics featuring increased ticket sales and registered shows during Scotland's keystone international cultural events.

Other countries realise the value, both economic and cultural, of supporting their arts communities (Picture: Ed Jones) | AFP via Getty Images

Fragility of success

For example, this year, the Festival Fringe issued 2.6 million tickets across almost 3,800 registered shows, representing performers from 60 countries. This is a marginal yet still a positive increase from the 2.45 million tickets sold in 2023 issued across 3,553 shows produced.

These statistics look promising at face value, but the fragility of this success is commonly underestimated. While figures for Fringe ticket sales and registered shows will continue to grow due to the festival’s popularity and international reputation, behind the scenes, art produced in Scotland will begin to degenerate if government funding volatility continues. Those who will be impacted the most are local, upcoming artists attempting to break their way into the industry.

Almost 50 per cent of Fringe artists and performers are local to Scotland, pointing to the significance of the domestic sector. Should the government decide to U-turn for the third time in the span of a few months and decimate the £3m Open Fund, hundreds of local freelance artists will be left with financial hardship.

International artists backed by their countries

What the government continuously overlooks when making decisions to cut funding is the fact that without its support, only commercial acts will thrive, forcing emerging local artists to rely heavily on investors for grants. Consequently, international artists, supported by their own governments who show genuine and consistent commitment to their local arts sectors, are likely to begin dominating events like the Fringe and Scotland’s wider international festivals.

Against a backdrop of all-time high costs for production, marketing and equipment hire, many local, underprivileged artists would also be priced out. The result of continuously volatile government funding promises will therefore encourage exclusive, beige art that is only available to those who can afford to be part of it.

Over time, the rise of commercial art is not only at odds with the values and mission of the Fringe to support new and unique art, funding cuts ignore the social benefits to be gained. Given culture is a pivotal keystone of a society, without its infrastructure, societies can begin to fragment.

During uncertain economic circumstances, namely the recent pandemic, societies have turned to art to bring communities together, prevent loneliness and support mental health. What the country doesn’t need is additional uncertainty about the future of its cultural hub through ongoing funding games which put the community’s mental health and livelihoods at risk.

Arts industry not a ‘luxury’

One would assume that recent circular decisions made by the Scottish Government also point to their perception of the industry as a ‘luxury’ rather than a ‘necessity’, ignoring the sector’s multiplier effect on adjacent economies. According to Festivals Edinburgh, £1 of public funds invested generates a whopping £33 in economic impact.

Festivals themselves are projected to contribute £367m annually to Scotland's economy and support around 5,000 full-time jobs, predominantly in tourism and hospitality sectors. Therefore, with each pound stripped back, we would expect to see quite a significant impact to projected growth – a reminder that could be useful for the government.

With or without public support for the arts, Edinburgh’s year-round needs are increasingly at odds with the needs of festivals such as the Fringe. Rising rental costs have always been an issue for both artists and visitors, however new rules implemented since October 2023 to manage high concentrations of short-term lets have only caused rentals to be more scarce and expensive than ever before.

Short-sighted decisions

However, while Edinburgh’s new tourist tax will propel accommodation prices even higher, the city will be able to use the revenue gained to invest up to £50m more a year in affordable housing, capital projects and culture. Edinburgh’s arts, heritage and events are expected to share some of these funds valued up to £14m a year. This is a step in the right direction.

The government’s latest cycle of funding indecision has installed uncertainty about the future of Scotland’s cultural well-being, and will cause significant long-term damage not only to the next generation of local artists, but to the societal contribution made by creative businesses.

Should the government move forward with cuts, the effects of these short-sighted decisions will be felt almost immediately in the sector. However, the first opportunity for the government to remediate these negative impacts will only be realised in the next two to three years, during which politicians will continue to grapple with growing pressure on the public purse.