*Edinburgh Festival Suffers from New Schedule

Final monthly tourist board figures show a disappointing year for the Edinburgh International Festival and its wayward offspring the Edinburgh Fringe, 'the world's largest arts festival'.

From the first week of the Fringe - which began 9 August, one week earlier than the International Festival - there were signs of a downturn. At the time, the Fringe insisted that, despite fewer tourists in the city, its box office takings were not negatively impacted. Several factors - including the World Cup, the poor Scottish summer, the strong pound and the Asian economic crisis - were blamed for the shortage of visitors.

In the final analysis, however, many are blaming the Fringe's decision to uncouple itself from the International Festival for the first time, extending its activities over four rather than three weeks. The change, say opponents, resulted in confusion and discontent amongst visitors and participants alike. The additional week, they say, was unnecessary and costly. One of the main Fringe venues, the Assembly Rooms, said it would make a loss this year due to the extended schedule and the paucity of audiences in the fourth week.

In terms of profit, the more high-brow International Festival was hit hardest. Official figures have not been released but rumours suggest that audience capacity for some theatre performances was as low as 10 per cent.

According to a report in The Stage this week, Edinburgh Council is now so concerned that it is planning to intervene and call an emergency meeting between International festival director Brian McMaster and Fringe director Hilary Strong. The Council would like the two festivals to work more closely together in the future.

Many have concluded that the new timetable is a disaster and are pushing for the two festivals to be re-aligned once again. Due to the necessity of advance bookings for many upcoming performers and productions, however, that will not be possible for at least another three years.

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