Exclusive:Edinburgh Fringe festival's new boss on why commercialism is 'not a dirty word' and dealing with 'love-hate'

Tony Lankester has started in his new role at the helm of the Edinburgh Fringe Society

Tony Lankester is aware that commercialism can be regarded as a “dirty word” in the arts sector.

“I'm not suggesting we put a Vodafone t-shirt on Hamlet,” says the new Fringe Society chief executive. “But I think what the Fringe needs to get better at is finding value in what we do and turning that value to commercial advantage.”

Members of the public walk past posters advertising shows ahead of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Mr Lankester, chief executive of the National Arts Festival in his native South Africa for 12 years before a six-year stint at London’s Riverside Studios, knows something about commercial partnerships. With a career that has spanned technology journalism to financial communications, he also worked as sponsorship manager at Cape Town-based financial services firm Old Mutual.

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“Arts organisations globally will tell you that they battle for funding,” he says, having started in the role last week. “But we [at the Fringe Society] are sitting on a goldmine of incredible assets. We've got the legacy of the Fringe, the history and it's a very values-driven organisation. All of those things resonate with certain corporates and certain commercials.

“For a long time in the arts sector, commercialism has been a dirty word. But I'd love to see the Fringe get a tighter handle on some of the commercial opportunities that face us.”

Why the Fringe can learn from sports

Mr Lankester points to the attitude of sports organisations, which he says approach sponsorship requests with a mentality of equality - in stark contrast to approaches from arts bodies.

“The difference is striking,” he says. “Sports organisations would come in and say ‘we’ve got this event, it’s going to be televised. It will reach this many million people, we can give value to your company through this and this and this and it will cost this much money’.

“Arts organisations would say ‘times are really tough, we need £200,000 just to get across the line this year. It’s really difficult and if you give us money, we can give you an ad, or maybe organise an event for your customers’.

“[They are] far more timid and less front-footed and less assertive about the value in what they do. The Fringe just needs to be more assertive about the value that it brings.”

Dealing with accommodation costs and infrastructure

Mr Lankester’s predecessor, Shona McCarthy, left the Fringe Society last month after nine years as chief executive. In the weeks before her departure, she called for more infrastructure support for the Fringe. Mrs McCarthy compared backing for the festival, which draws in more than one million people to Edinburgh over the month of August, to that provided for major sports events such as the Commonwealth Games or the Olympic Games.

A shortage of affordable accommodation forcing artists to stay outside Edinburgh and issues with mobile phone blackspots have been among major problems faced in recent years. A recent Fringe Society survey found that one in four audience members now saw the rising cost of accommodation as a "barrier" to staying in Edinburgh for longer or attending more shows.

Mr Lankester brings a wealth of experience with infrastructure challenges. Rolling power blackouts in South Africa meant organisers of the National Arts Festival would be told there would be no electricity just hours in advance. Meanwhile on one occasion, there was no water supply the day before the festival launched.

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

“Suddenly, when that happens, there's a rescheduling job that has to happen,” Mr Lankester says. “There's a ticketing job, there's an audience job.

“Obviously, in Edinburgh, we have electricity, we have water, clearly it’s a different context. But with, for example, the mobile phone problem, that’s huge. It’s going to become more and more important because people book tickets while they’re mobile, they use Google Maps to find their way around. And if that fails, then shows are going to start late and you’re not going to sell as many tickets.”

He is, however, of the opinion that some of the city’s infrastructure problems could be solved relatively easily.

“Other cities have done things like city-wide free wifi,” he says. “They can also go to the mobile phone companies, get them to put extra masts in.”

He cites a legendary tale from his previous employer, Old Mutual, which received a direct phone call from former South African president Nelson Mandela, who borrowed a mobile phone while visiting an impoverished community in need of funds for a new school to make a personal request. The company funded the school.

“If you’re a company and Nelson Mandela phones you, you’re not going to say no, are you?” he says.

Mr Lankester says he believes the same applies, albeit on a lesser scale, to Edinburgh City Council.

“The council has weight and muscle in this regard, and they have relationships with all these corporates on other levels,” he says. “So, I’m pretty sure if the council leader put in a call to the chief executive of Vodafone and said ‘please bring a temporary mast to Edinburgh on the Royal Mile’, they probably would.”

He hopes to “work a lot more personally with the council”, particularly around temporary exemptions to the short-term licensing rules, which were recently relaxed to allow a cheaper option for those temporarily renting out their homes for a short period. The Fringe Society recently launched a marketing drive on its Host an Artist campaign, to encourage locals to put up performers in their homes.

The love-hate relationship with the Fringe

While Mr Lankester hopes the event can eventually grow to its pre-pandemic levels, he is aware of the love-hate relationship between local residents and the event. He admits he has already received “generous opinions” from people he has met over the past week.

“I want to understand why they do both [love and hate], and understand how people feel about the Fringe and how they view its role in their in their life - personally, but also in the life of the city,” he says.

A juggling performer eats a potato on Edinburgh's Royal Mile during the city's Festival Fringe. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images | Getty Images

Mr Lankester regards Fringe Central - the Fringe Society’s new base on Edinburgh’s Infirmary Street - as key for year-round engagement with locals. The building, which is undergoing a £7 million refurbishment, is set to offer affordable rehearsal, workshop and desk space for artists and cultural organisations in the city. He also sees it as an opportunity for year-round commercial partnerships.

“I think the creation of Fringe Central really gives us an opportunity to have a presence and an influence in the lives of people who live here beyond just the summer,” he says.

“I want to look at how we use that space to bring to life the opportunity for people who live here once the tourists have left at the end of the summer. How do we help make life in the city better? That's where I want to turn my attention to.”

Thinking big

He admits he is a leader who comes up with big ideas and relies on “people in the room” to counter his sometimes-outlandish plans.

Mr Lankester has explained this to his team, who he says are poised for his brand of innovation.

“I really value that way of working,” he says. “Obviously, people don't like change, but people also get very excited about possibility, and they get excited about the prospect of doing big, new, interesting things.

“[I want] that kind of environment: more entrepreneurial, more nimble, which will embrace innovation and change, because I think those are the kinds of things that are really critical to our survival in the future.”

In five years time, he hopes to have shaped a Fringe with entrepreneurism “baked into its DNA”, and which has created a “more authentic and resilient relationship with its city”.

“I would like to think that it would have found enormous value in what it does, and would have a network of partners who also see that value to collectively make the event bigger and better,” he says.