The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society was celebrating a record year at the box office as it drew to a close today. With hundreds of performances still to take place, the Society announced this afternoon that an estimated 1,943,493 tickets had been issued, an increase of 5% compared with the same time a year ago.
Last year there was a modest drop in 2012 Fringe tickets issued, due to the impact of the London Olympics, but this year's figures are still an increase on 2011's 1,877,119 tickets issued.
The Fringe was a bigger arts festival this year, with 45,464 performances of 2,871 shows in 273 venues compared to 42,096 performances of 2,695 shows in 279 venues last year.
“Our loyal and enthusiastic audience has once again been treated to the most amazing cultural experience and has been both challenged and entertained by a programme of spectacular work across all artforms from all around the world," said Kath M Mainland, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society.
“Over the past 25 days, audiences from Edinburgh, Scotland, the rest of the UK and across the globe have been inspired by world-class performers, writers and artists in the largest celebration of art and entertainment in the world. I would like, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people who visited the Fringe this year, to thank them for showing us their incredible talent and courage by bringing so many extraordinary shows and events to our capital city.”
While the Fringe is over the Edinburgh International Festival continues until the 1st September, when it climaxes with the spectacular Festival Fireworks Concert.
The 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe will run from the 1st to the 25th of August.