At the end of the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Chief Executive Shona McCarthy has penned a heartfelt open letter expressing concerns about the health and welfare of the venture going into the future.
Ms McCarthy pulls no punches. “There is no doubt that the current environment for artists across the UK is a great concern; and the fragility of the performing arts community is palpable.”
She then consolidates the message: “the cumulative effect of the relentless rise in the cost of everything and an unhelpful policy environment facing the arts sector has resulted in widespread concern that is keenly felt by artists. From the availability of affordable accommodation, planned policy changes which have consequences for major events, to continuous public sector cuts; we need to ensure that the hard-won and fragile success isn’t met with complacency by those who can influence change.”
This seems wholly understandable, especially in the context of a business that, three years ago after an ill-judged decision to reopen when the pandemic was still a major threat, a government bail-out and a fundraising exercise seeking to bring in £7½ million were required to shore up leaky accounts.
In some ways, the situation now could be even more parlous, given that the Scottish Government and Edinburgh Council are both struggling financially and, amid protests from the arts community, seem likely to pare funding to the point where the Fringe will be obliged to operate profitably if it wants to survive.
That, in itself, may not be so easy given that, despite recent year-on-year increases in attendances and, one imagines revenues, visitor numbers are still significantly below those in the heady days at the end of the last decade.
In 2019, over 3 million tickets were issued, while five years later, the latest figures are coming in around 15% lower at 2.6 million. As anyone who has visited of late will know, ticket prices have shot up but then so have costs. This means that, overall, there is a fair chance of a shortfall.
Worryingly, the Fringe and associated festivals are almost literally pricing themselves out of the market, given that spending a few days in Edinburgh enjoying the entertainment highlights during August will probably cost more for the average Londoner than spending the same time at a nice hotel and enjoying the sights in Paris or, conceivably, New York. Clearly, anyone jetting in from overseas will find his or her visit even more expensive.
The costs stem from the general cost of living increase, meaning that food, travel and tickets for shows are all far more expensive than five years ago. However, the major contributor is a decision by Edinburgh Council to attack short-term lets. This almost might make perfect sense for 11 months of the year, but has meant that accommodation is now unaffordable during August.
To take a simple example from close to home, our editor David Chadderton has for years spent a week or more in Edinburgh enjoying the Fringe and Book Festival. This summer, he cut back to three days but probably spent the same amount as in the past. Others will undoubtedly have followed a similar course.
It isn’t just punters and critics who are finding life difficult. There have been several articles in the media about performers who have decided that Edinburgh is too expensive. Even the redoubtable Guy Masterson has announced that he is giving up producing at the Fringe, unless someone can be found who is willing to underwrite all of his costs.
This isn’t really surprising. While a top-rated comedian can make a lot of money with a peak evening or late-night slot in one of the city’s largest venues, a relatively small-scale theatre company seeking to spend a month in the city must now expect to lose tens of thousands of pounds, even if their occupancy exceeds expectations.
In the next year, a bit of a rethink may be required. The Scottish Government and local council may no longer offer financial support but, if nothing else, a temporary stay of execution on short-term lets in August 2025 could make a big difference without damaging the rental ecosystem and at no cost to anybody.
Otherwise, the Fringe will inevitably have to find generous additional funding, but goodness knows where, or cut its cloth to fit the new economic climate.