Edinburgh Fringe ticket sales down 25% across key venues

Eight leading venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe have predicted a 25% drop in ticket sales compared to 2019 – warning that soaring accommodation costs are the biggest threat to the future of the event. 

The eight major producing venues behind website EdFest.com – comprising Assembly, Dance Base, Gilded Balloon, Just the Tonic, Pleasance, Summerhall, Underbelly and Zoo – forecasted the sale of about 1,486,746 tickets this year. 

In 2019, the venues sold 1,965,961 tickets, marking a predicted 25% drop in the number of tickets sold in the festival’s first year back since the pandemic. 

The venues collectively commented: "It has been fantastic to be back at the first full Fringe since 2019 – to see the live performance industry come roaring back to life in this post-pandemic world. 

"There has been a real appetite and energy for shared, live experiences in Edinburgh over the last few weeks and the quality of the programme has been incredible – yet, the forecast number of tickets we’ve collectively sold is down 25% compared to 2019 which is a major threat  for everyone involved in the festival."

The statement said the cost of accommodation was a "perennial problem" affecting audience numbers, along with disruption with public transport, delays with artist visas and high fuel costs. 

It added: "We know that a lack of safe, affordable housing is not just an August problem, but one that affects the artists, staff and audiences who call Edinburgh home. 

"It’s imperative that local and national government, landlords, the universities, Fringe venues and the Fringe Society all come together to find a lasting solution for this issue, or the future of the Fringe is in very real danger."

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has been contacted for comment.