Edinburgh Fringe 2016 programme launched

The programme for this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe has been launched ahead of the festival opening in August.

The biggest performing arts festival in the world will feature over 50,000 performances of comedy, theatre, dance, circus, opera, cabaret and more in venues across Edinburgh. There are 3,269 shows performing in 294 venues throughout the city.

This year the National Museum of Scotland has partnered with Gilded Balloon and will host comedy, theatre and children's shows. C Venues open C Scala at St Stephen's Church in Stockbridge, while Assembly Rooms features the inaugural Edinburgh Digital Entertainment Festival which focuses on technology and arts.

Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said: "The breadth and diversity of talent that comes to the Fringe is unparalleled, and this year is no exception. At its core the Fringe is an open access festival, which welcomes anyone with a story to tell, and for that reason, amateur and professional artists from around the world continue year after year to come here to share their stories, hone their skills, create new opportunities for themselves and their work, and celebrate the joy of live performance."

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare and as such, there's many Bard-related shows taking place. Shakespeare for Breakfast returns for the 25th year, while Reduced Shakespeare Company bring William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged) to the fringe. There will also be digital screenings of National Theatre and RSC productions of Hamlet, Coriolanus, Henry V and Othello.

Theatre this year makes up 27 per cent of the entire line-up – the same percentage as last year. There will be several site specific events including Still Here a tent-based production exploring the lives of people in refugee camps at Zoo at St Mary's South Lawn. A double decker bus will also be the venue for Java Dance Theatre who return with Back of the Bus.

Comedy makes up 34 per cent of all Fringe shows, and comedians staging work include Rory Bremner, Omid Djalili, Shappi Khorsandi, Lucy Porter and Stewart Lee.

From 3,269 shows there are 643 free shows and 1,731 premieres.

Tickets are now available to collect from the Fringe Box Office along with over 20 other collection points throughout the city.

Head to our Edinburgh Festival page for everything you need to know about the fringe