Exclusive:Edinburgh Festival Fringe loses major commercial sponsor in financial blow

The Johnnie Walker brand has had a tie-up with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe since 2019

Whisky brand Johnnie Walker has scrapped its sponsorship deal with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in a major financial blow.

The agreement, which began six years ago, has seen Johnnie Walker become a major supporter of the Fringe Society, funding significant upgrades to the organisation’s infrastructure, including e-ticketing improvements and the reintroduction of the Fringe venue map.

Johnnie Walker, which runs a whisky attraction on Princes Street, was one of the biggest backers of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The partnership, initially with the Johnnie Walker whisky brand, in 2022 shifted to the Johnnie Walker Princes Street hub - a visitor whisky experience attraction - which became an official “destination partner” of the Fringe.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has confirmed the end of the partnership and said the organisation was “discussing” how it would work with the brand in future.

The confirmation comes a day after new chief executive Tony Lankester told The Scotsman he wanted to lead the organisation into a more commercial future, getting a “tighter handle on some of the commercial opportunities” available.

In his first interview since taking over the role last week, Mr Lankester said he wanted to help the Fringe “be more assertive” about the value it could bring to corporate partnerships. He said he wanted to create a “network of partners” to “collectively make the event bigger and better”.

Tony Lankester is the new chief executive of the Fringe Society. | Fringe Society

Owned by drinks giant Diageo, Johnnie Walker has also hosted pop-up bars during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, including the Johnnie Walker Fringe Club, as well as “Pick of the Fringe” events at its Princes Street venue, featuring comedians and other performers from the festival line-up.

In its latest accounts filed to Companies House in July for the year to November 30, 2023, the Fringe Society board listed Johnnie Walker Princes Street as one of its main sponsors, alongside TikTok, Edinburgh Gin and Cirrus Logic. In a statement published in the accounts, it thanked the brand for its “support of e-ticketing” during the previous Fringe festival.

It is not known what Johnnie Walker’s sponsorship is worth. However, a total of £407,062 was received by the organisation in “donations and legacies”, according to the accounts.

A statement in the accounts said: “Johnnie Walker supported the Fringe Society during the pandemic, and we are grateful to them for their donations during this challenging time. Johnnie Walker Princes St opened in September 2021, and our partnership evolved to focus on this incredible new visitor attraction and its role in the offer to visitors during the Fringe.

“Alongside support of the e-ticketing journey, Johnnie Walker Princes St also hosted events for the Fringe Society in their iconic space on Princes Street. We are grateful to Johnnie Walker Princes Street for their continued and ongoing support.”

In 2019, announcing the partnership, John Williams, global brand director of Johnnie Walker, said he was “honoured” to be part of the Fringe, which he described as the “most famous and respected cultural festival in the world”.

A spokeswoman for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said: “We've come to the end of our three-year partnership and are now discussing how Johnnie Walker Princes Street and the Fringe Society will work together in 2025 and beyond.”

A spokesman for Diageo said: “I can confirm that Johnnie Walker Princes Street isn’t going to be the official partner destination this year. But we are continuing to work with The Fringe in other ways.”