Edinburgh Festival and Fringe organisers have contrasting stories to tell as season closes.
The Edinburgh Fringe has suffered the resignation of its director, Jon Morgan, and is preparing to abandon its new box office system even as its sister organisation, the Edinburgh Festival, celebrated record ticket sales.
There was an outcry in June when the new Fringe box office, telesales and online booking system crashed almost as soon as it was put into action. The system was taken offline when it became clear that internet and telephone sales were not going to be possible. Ticketing problems continued and venues have criticised the Fringe management for endangering their commercial existence. Amidst these major technical problems, it emerged that the providers of the new system, Pivotal Integration Ltd, had gone into administration. Launching an in-depth review of the ticketing system fiasco mid-way through the festival, Morgan assured the public that the company’s difficulties would not affect ticket sales in the last week of the Fringe. In resigning, Morgan explained that he had been “considering this for some time” because “the role of Fringe Director has taken me away from my first love: producing and presenting”. He added that he would “contribute fully to the independent review of the box office”.
Despite these problems, the organisers were claiming success for the 2008 Fringe, although ticket sales of just over 1.5 million were down by around 10% on 2007. Morgan said, “This is the third year that the Fringe has sold in excess of 1.5 million tickets signifying another fantastic year for the world’s biggest arts festival.” While acknowledging the problems with ticketing, he also blamed the loss of venues, impact of the Olympics and the economy for the downturn. However, there is some good news for the Fringe as the Scottish Government’s Expo Fund announced a £200,000 initiative called ‘Made in Scotland’, for showcasing Scottish-based performing talent on the Fringe from 2009. Twenty per cent of the Expo Fund will be ring-fenced for this initiative in future years, in a partnership between the Fringe, the Federation of Scottish Theatre and the Scottish Arts Council. A panel of distinguished Scottish and international artists and producers will advise on developing and curating the project. [[ticket sales of just over 1.5 million were down by around 10% on 2007]]
Meanwhile, the Edinburgh Festival has announced record takings of £2.63m and is celebrating critical acclaim and popular impact, with Matthew Bourne’s ‘Dorian Gray’ becoming “the biggest-selling dance event in the Festival’s history… seen by 13,123 people”. The organisers have claimed increases in both international and local audiences, and say that one-third of its events were “total sell-outs”. They also claim success for the new initiative to share festival events with other, less well provided-for areas, including Rutherglen, Stirling and Cumbernauld. The Festival appointed Sir Charles Mackerras as only its second ever Honorary President, the first being Yehudi Menuhin. Good news for both Festivals came in the form of the Edinburgh International Festival Award 2008, which is made to a company on the Fringe for innovation, creativity and potential. The winner was Belt Up (nothing to see/hear), which will appear in the Behind the Scenes programme of the Festival in 2009.