Edinburgh Fringe: Locals boost festival ticket sales Published duration 26 August 2019 Related Topics Edinburgh Festival Fringe

image copyright PA Media image caption Actors Joy Maria Onotu and Sarah Miele promoted the fringe show Valentina's Galaxy on Edinburgh's Salisbury Crags

More Edinburgh residents than ever have bought tickets for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The Fringe Society said people in the city had bought a record 856,541 tickets for the 2019 event.

In total, 3,012,490 tickets were sold, with almost 250,000 people attending at least one show.

The Edinburgh International Festival's 155 events with 293 performances drew a total of 420,000 attendees, an increase of 1% on the previous year.

Fringe Society chief executive Shona McCarthy described this year's programme as "the perfect combination of local and global".

The provisional figures covered sales up to 16:00 on Monday. Many of the 3,800 shows included in the fringe have further performances still to run.

image copyright PA Media image caption International performers included circus troupe Casus from Australia

Ms McCarthy said: "The Fringe is the perfect combination of local and global - a magnificent medieval city and its residents welcoming performing artists from all over the world.

"At a time of political division and uncertainty around the world, the role of the Fringe as a platform for radical conversations to happen - from the future of our environment to gender politics, racism and disability - has never been more important.

"We are delighted to welcome audiences from Edinburgh, Scotland, the rest of the UK and across the world to this year's Fringe, alongside 1,661 producers, programmers and bookers who will help ensure the work presented at this year's festival is seen by audiences in venues and festivals both here in the UK and internationally."

'Career springboard'

Fringe Society chairman Sir Tim O'Shea added: "The positive impact of the Fringe is felt long after August comes to a close - from the artists who use the Fringe as a career springboard to the local communities who come to the festival, many for the first time, and are inspired to take up something completely new."

Edinburgh International Festival director Fergus Linehan said: "We are delighted with a very successful festival. We broke new ground in collaboration and inclusiveness, which is particularly important in the current political backdrop.