'Our view is that there will be a festival – but we don't know what form it will take'

The publication of the Edinburgh Fringe programme is to be put back by at least four weeks.

But amid the coronavirus crisis, the festival’s chief Shona McCarthy  has said her team were working ‘with a view that there will be a Fringe in August’.

However, she added: ‘We don’t know what form that Fringe will take, what it will look like, but we are re-grouping every day.’

The delay will allow more promoters and performers time to decide whether to stage shows at this year’s festival when a clearer picture of the wider picture might emerge.

McCarthy vowed to give an update every Friday, given the fast-changing situation.

She added: ‘There are no fixed positions in the current environment, but neither do we want to make rash or damaging decisions for participants, audiences, staff, or the community of businesses and partners who work hard to make this festival happen every year.’

A similar joint statement from the ‘big four’ venues of Assembly, Gilded Balloon, Pleasance and Underbelly.

They will be extending the April deadline for their joint brochure with an eye to a digital launch towards the end of June, a printed brochure in July and venues opening, as planned, on August 5.

The venues already have 500 shows registered with them, and in a joint statement, they said: ‘It is not a festival that can be closed or cancelled by an individual or a single organisation and if permitted by the authorities, we have no doubt that there will be a festival to present this summer. Who knows, it could be one of the most exciting events we have ever staged.’

All the venues have refund policies should the Fringe not be permitted to happen.

We still don’t know what the future holds. There’s science and modelling and graphs coming at us from every corner and they all tell us something different. So we will keep focused, carry on with a view that there will be a Fringe in August. We don’t know what form that Fringe will take, what it will look like, but we are re-grouping every day, listening to all our stakeholders and will review our public messaging on Wednesdays and issue updates for participants every Friday. A Fringe will happen, a programme will happen, but it just might not look as it has before.

Whilst we can’t provide definitive answers on everything at this stage, there are specific areas where we can make a difference. One question that we’ve been asked lots is whether we could move the publication of the Fringe Programme. Following discussions with our printers, paper merchants, distributors and designers (who are also suffering with the uncertainty of the time), we’ve agreed to delay production by at least four weeks, to give artists more time to see how the situation develops and to make an informed decision about participating in the festival.

We will keep an open mind about the printed programme, what it might look like and what other tools Fringe audiences can use to navigate the festival. There are no fixed positions in the current environment, but neither do we want to make rash or damaging decisions for participants, audiences, staff, or the community of businesses and partners who work hard to make this festival happen every year.

Over this four-week period we will explore a variety of options to ensure we provide artists and audiences with the best possible tools for navigating the festival, whilst also being live to the rapidly changing situation all around us. We will continue to provide support and advice services through our registration team, and to promote listings online should participants choose to go on sale during that period. 

We don’t have all the answers, but we’re committed to sharing updates as soon as we have them. Most importantly, we will continue to listen. Fringe participants are the cornerstone of the festival and we value your input and want to keep talking, so please feel free to come to us with any concerns, questions or contributions you have about how we go forwards during this unique time. Our team are here for you, so please do get in touch with us at participants@edfringe.com.

Thanks for your patience over what I know is an incredibly difficult and uncertain time.

Best wishes over the coming days, Shona.

Published: 20 Mar 2020