‘Over two million’ attend 2013 Edinburgh Fringe
Over 1.9 million tickets are estimated to have been sold for this year’s Fringe, which drew to a close yesterday (26 August 2013), marking a five percent increase on last year, which was affected by the Olympics.
A total of 1,943,493 people attended shows this year – 3.5 per cent more than the previous highest tally, set two years ago.
When the Free Fringe, which claimed two of this year’s Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards, is taken into account, total attendances topped two million.
The 2013 Fringe saw a total of 45,464 performances of 2871 shows at 273 venues across the Scottish capital.
Kath M Mainland, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “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 art forms.
“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.”
A spokesman for the Free Edinburgh Fringe Festival added: “All of the shows have been busy every single day, with some having queues around the block. Some of our venues have said it has been their best year ever, not just compared to last year, and if you add the Free Fringe, the total of attendances do go well over two million.”
