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Rising accommodation costs have been blamed after a total of 2.2 million ticket sales were sold for this year\u2019s Edinburgh Fringe \u2013 26.7% down on the most recent pre-pandemic edition of the festival in 2019.<\/p>\n
The total number of shows across the Fringe, which finished on Sunday, dropped by about 12% from 3,800 to 3,334. Approximately three million tickets were sold for the 2019 festival.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, sales at Edinburgh\u2019s eight biggest venues slumped by almost 25% this year.<\/p>\n
The venues, which marketed their shows under the EdFest.com banner, blamed \u201cthe soaring cost of accommodation in Edinburgh in August\u201d and added: \u201cAudiences and artists alike are being priced out of town, out of experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the city\u2019s biggest venues told Chortle: \u201cDisruption with public transport, delays with artist visas, and high fuel costs are even more insurmountable when people and performers simply cannot afford to stay in the city\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the extent of the reduction in sales the overall festival has a major job to do in restoring the event to normality, which may take several years and require some public support.\u201d<\/p>\n
The figures do not take into account the distribution of free tickets.<\/p>\n
In July, more than 1,600 producers, comedians and agents signed an open letter<\/a>, accusing organisers of the world-famous festival of a series of perceived management failures, including scrapping the event\u2019s mobile ticketing app.<\/p>\n The letter also blamed organisers for what they said was a lack of transparency, and additionally failing to help with rising accommodation costs and reduced train services.<\/p>\n Image:\u00a0Kilyan Sockalingum<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n