Creative Scotland pulls hundreds of thousands of pounds

The body that oversees the Edinburgh Fringe has been stripped of hundreds of thousands of pounds of funding.

Creative Scotland, which has given the event a total of £210,000 over the past three years, has dropped the Fringe Society from its next round of funding.

That cut comes despite the quango’s budget rising by £16million to £99million over the next three years. 

Fringe chief executive Shona McCarthy greeted the news with dismay.

She said: ‘On behalf of the thousands of artists, producers, venues and companies that make up the Fringe family, we’re extremely disappointed not to be included in the regular funding programme.

‘The Fringe showcases the very best of Scottish and international culture, making the arts as accessible as possible to an audience of millions. It generates over £170m a year for the economy, but receives less than five per cent of its funding from the public sector.

‘It is no exaggeration to say it is one of Scotland’s greatest cultural exports – helping it punch well above its weight in terms of cultural influence, artistic excellence and creativity.’

But  Creative Scotland’s chief executive Janet Archer said: ‘While we can’t support everyone, we seek to provide a range of different opportunities to access support across all of our funding routes.’

Published: 25 Jan 2018