NEWS TICKER
Published on
August 29, 2023
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 - It's a wrap!
By
editorial
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 came to a close yesterday (Monday 28th) and here's an overview.
The 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe draws to a close today, Monday 28 August 2023, having brought together artists, arts industry, media and audiences from nearly 170 countries, with 2,445,609 tickets issued across the festival.
288 venues hosted a diverse selection of work from Scotland, the UK and the rest of the world, with 67 countries represented, and performance showcases from 17 countries. They were joined by nearly 500 of the world’s finest street performers, buskers and street artists, who brought vibrancy and joy to the Mound and Royal Mile as part of the Fringe street events.
As the largest performing arts festival and expo market for professional development in the world, this year’s Fringe also attracted nearly 1,400 accredited producers, programmers, bookers, talent agencies, festivals and others from 49 countries, who come to Edinburgh looking to find talent and shows, providing touring and onward opportunities for artists well beyond August. In addition, 840 of the world’s media accredited for this year’s festival through the Fringe Society, with the number of reviewers up 10% on last year, and who in total generated 25% more reviews for artists at the Fringe than in 2022.
The themes and issues tackled by artists in the 2023 programme included mental health and wellbeing, disability, queer lives, working-class representation and the climate crisis; with emerging talent showcased alongside big names and groundbreaking international work.
READ OUR FESTIVAL REVIEWS HERE Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “This year’s Fringe has been one that’s felt fresh, brave and energetic, and has sparked joy, discussion and provocation in equal measure, tackling the prevalent issues of our times and looking at them afresh through the creative lens and ingenuity of the performing artists.
“People come from all over the world to perform here, to see shows and to commission work. This festival remains a beacon for people to share and discuss ideas – I want to express my heartfelt thanks and admiration to everyone who makes it happen. Congratulations to the whole Fringe community of Fringe 2023; we will be relentless in our ongoing work to ensure that the Edinburgh Fringe lives up to its mantra – to give anyone a stage and everyone a seat.”