Fringe festival

What is the Edinburgh Fringe?

Its full name is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, ie it was conceived as a fringe event to the Edinburgh Festival, aka the Edinburgh International Festival. Both events began life in 1947: the big, government-funded EIF was staging its first edition, and eight theatre companies rocked up into town to capitalise on its presence.

The EIF still exists in loosely the same form as it did 77 years ago, but the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – usually just called ‘the Fringe’ – has become much bigger and isn’t really the fringe to anything, with thousands of shows all over the Scottish city each year.

While theatre remains a vital component of the Fringe, it’s probably best known for stand-up comedy these days.

When is the Edinburgh Fringe?

The Fringe always officially runs for three weeks, ending with the August bank holiday weekend.

Its official dates for 2024 are August 2 to 26.

Where is the Edinburgh Fringe?

It’s

when does edinburgh fringe festival start

when does edinburgh fringe festival end