As the Edinburgh Festival Fringe enters its second weekend, audiences are embracing the call to Fill Yer
As the Edinburgh Festival Fringe enters its second weekend, audiences are embracing the call to Fill Yer Boots across a diverse and energetic Fringe programme. With over 1 million tickets issued so far and thousands of people watching street performances and free shows, the 2023 Fringe is as relevant, exciting, accessible and diverse as ever.
While this key moment is an important milestone, the festival, and indeed the wider cultural sector, have much to do in their continued recovery from the pandemic. As an open-access festival it is the artists themselves who are at the heart of the Fringe, taking the risk to bring work to Edinburgh every August. As such, the Fringe Society encourages everyone visiting the festival this August to continue to see work and explore as much as possible for the next two weeks.
Audiences have been flocking to the popular Street Events programme to experience local and international street performances every day from 11:00 – 18:00, with artists maximising the opportunity to tell passersby about their upcoming shows. In addition to the outdoor programme, there are 439 free shows and 614 Pay What you Can/Want shows across various venues, ensuring something for everyone.
The Fringe Central Artist Hub, which this year is located in the Quaker Meeting House, has welcomed hundreds of artists to the space to network with peers, engage in an extensive events programme, and gain advice and support from the Fringe Society team.
The Fringe app, which returned this summer, has now had over 55,000 downloads; with Nearby Now and Shake to Search functionality helping audiences take a chance on watching something new while between shows or simply offering a randomised performance.
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “Last autumn, when we reviewed the challenges facing the 2023 Fringe, we entered this year with uncertainty about what this summer would look like. Despite the current cost of living crisis, audiences have jumped straight into the Fringe programme and are exploring performance across every genre. With the average ticket price less than £12, it is the artists and venues who have worked tirelessly to ensure the Fringe is accessible as possible. I encourage you to continue to support this important event, book more tickets and Fill Yer Boots with everything this extraordinary festival has to offer.’
About the Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The Edinburgh Festival Fringe will take place from 04 – 28 August 2023.
More information about the programme and tickets can be found at edfringe.com. 
About the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society: The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is the charity that underpins the world-renowned Edinburgh Fringe. It was established in 1958 by a group of artists to provide central services for the festival and ensure that it stays true to its founding purpose of inclusion and welcoming to all. We exist to support and encourage everyone who wants to participate in the Fringe, to provide information and assistance to audiences, and to celebrate the Fringe and what it stands for all over the world.
Based on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, the Society has a small team of staff who work year-round to assist all the artists and audiences who make the festival one of the best-loved performing arts events on the planet. In 2022, as part of the Fringe’s 75th anniversary, the Fringe Society launched a new collaborative vision and set of values and made a series of commitments to become more inclusive, fair and sustainable. The vision is “to give anyone a stage and everyone a seat”.
Our three values will guide the behaviours and decisions of everyone involved with the Fringe: celebrate performing arts, be open to all and look out for each other. The Society will live by them, champion them and uphold them where necessary.