The gate for the street fair portion of the festival on the Royal Mile, in August 2007.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (The Fringe) is the world’s largest arts festival.[1][2] It started in 1947. It takes place every year at the same time as the Edinburgh International Festival: late August and early September. There are hundreds of different events. There are concerts, theatre, opera, and dance and many informal events.
The organisers are the Festival Fringe Society: they publish a programme every year, sell tickets and give advice to performers from the Fringe office on the Royal Mile.[3]
The Edinburgh Festival itself is recognised to offer high-quality events. However, the Fringe events are variable, and entry has no real quality barriers. It is largely an open event where almost any theatrical or show event can be performed. Its lack of supervision means the shows are of unpredictable standard. All events have an entrance charge, which is reasonable because theatres do charge performers.
