2m tickets sold

Almost two million tickets have been sold for Edinburgh Fringe shows this year, a new record.

The festival sold 1,955,913 tickets, up more than five per cent on last year. And that doesn’t include the 558 free shows that do not have to go through box offices.

Venues report similar success stories. The Gilded Balloon said it sold eight per cent more tickets than 2009, and C Venues – which added the 500-seat George Square Theatre to its operation – said sales were up a massive 25 per cent.

Festival organisers calculated that there were 40,254 performances of 2,453 shows in 259 venues across the city. Comedy made up 35 per cent of the programme, followed by theatre with 29 per cent.

Fringe boss Kath Mainland said: 'Audiences have come to know the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as the place to see every kind of art, from the most imaginative children's theatre to topical and incisive comedy and theatre which challenges audiences to discuss and reconsider their world… The Fringe is the greatest show on earth.’

Published: 30 Aug 2010