News Snippets (from August 2009 to August 2010)

Magic Festival for Edinburgh posted March 7th, 2010. The Scotsman has revealed that Edinburgh will host an inaugural Magic Festival in July (7th to 11th). Edinburgh-based magician Kevin McMahon came up with the idea. As a punter who enjoys the occasional magic show on the Fringe, I hope that the magicians do not all decamp to this new event.

McEwan Hall to be used as Fringe venue posted March 5th, 2010. The impressive 1,000 seater McEwan Hall is to be used as a Fringe venue in 2010 by Underbelly, according to The Scotsman. At the moment it appears as if it will only be used in the evenings for a small number of comedy acts.

Expo Emerging Artist Commission posted February 25th, 2010. Kim Coleman and Jenny Hogarth will create Staged for the 2010 Edinburgh Art Festival. It will be a multi-channel video installation, incorporating staged managed performances with live events filmed around the city by CCTV cameras. Staged will be launched on July 29th, 2010.

National Theatre of Scotland to appear at both EIF and Fringe posted February 23rd, 2010. The Stage outlines the NTS's summer and autumn schedule for 2010. They will appear at the EIF although the details will not be announced until the EIF programme is launched on March 17th - The Stage understands that it will be a new commission by political satirist Alistair Beaton. At the Fringe they will be appearing in a co-production with Frantic Assembly of Byrony Lavery's Beautiful Burnout.

Usher Hall glass extension to open posted February 23rd, 2010. modified February 25th, 2010. The Scotsman reports for the umpteenth time that the interminable work at the Usher Hall is nearing completion. Actually, it is good news bad news ... the good is that the glass extension will open to the public this week (25th Feb) ... the bad is that work on the culture quarter outside the hall will continue, possibly right up to the time of the EIF. It was subsequently announced that there will be a gala in October to celebrate the completion of the work. Holst's The Planets will be performed by the Houston Symphony Orchestra while a large screen will show Nasa high definition images of the planets.

Book Festival's 2009 Annual Review available posted February 18th, 2010. The Edinburgh Book Festival's 2009 Annual Review is now available. It can be downloaded from their website.

Creative Scotland appoints Chief Executive posted February 17th, 2010. Various media outlets, including The Herald, report the appointment of Andrew Brown as the Chief Executive of Creative Scotland. This organisation will be a merging of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. In brief, the merging of these two organisations was originally mooted in 2006. Currently, Creative Scotland does not exist: it is waiting for the passing of the Public Services Reform Bill in the Scottish Parliament (probably later this year). Meanwhile, Creative Scotland 09 ltd was formed late last year to manage the transition to the new organisation.

Edinburgh City Council agrees budget for 2010-2011 fy posted February 12th, 2010. previous post January 26th, 2010. stv.tv reports that Edinburgh City Council has agreed the budget for the coming financial year. The cuts in grants to each of the individual festivals will be 1.5%, as previously reported. No figures are quoted for cuts in grants to the theatres, but there is no reason to suppose that it is any different from the figures that were mentioned in late January. The Scotsman's latest article on the budget cuts can be found here.

More on festival passports posted February 8th, 2010. previous post October 31st, 2009. The Scotsman provides slightly more news on this disturbing development. Festivals Edinburgh is selling "festival passports" to the travel trade. It provides three or more of the "best shows" per day from £40 per day as part of travel package deals. Travellers will not of course find out which events have been selected for them until July, once all the programmes have been launched. The Scotsman mainly focuses on the criticism that it will only benefit big name performers. My concern is the added difficulty to ordinary punters who may find it problematic, if not impossible, to get tickets for some of their chosen shows. Further information can be found here on the Festivals Edinburgh site.

Fringe posts profit in 2009 posted January 29th, 2010. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe posted a comforting profit of £132K in 2009, reports The Scotsman, after its calamitous loss of circa. £900K in 2008 which was largely attributable to the box office system fiasco. It received £255K in grants in 2009, the largest sum in its history.

Fringe looking for volunteers to help with new website design posted January 28th, 2010. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is developing a new website for the 2010 event and it is looking for volunteers to take part in workshops to say what they like and dont like about the ideas that it currently has. The workshops will be held in Edinburgh (Mon 1st Feb at 7pm) and London (Tue 2nd Feb at 6pm and 8pm). Contact the Fringe if you are interested.

Edinburgh City Council considering funding reductions posted January 26th, 2010. According to The Edinburgh Evening News the City Council is discussing how to tackle a £90m gap in its finances over the next three years. Wide-ranging cuts to third parties, including the arts, are likely. Among the proposals are 1.5% cuts in funding to each of the individual festivals next year, growing to 3.5% in each of the two following years; theatres such as the Traverse and the Lyceum plus Festivals Edinburgh (which markets the festivals) may see 2.5% next year with a further 3.5% in years two and three; while the Queens Hall is among those who could be hardest hit with 3.5% next year and 4.5% subsequently.

Edinburgh Film Festival MD steps down posted January 16th, 2010. EdinburghGuide.com reports that Ginnie Atkinson, Managing director of the Edinburgh Film Festival for 15 years and CEO of the Filmhouse for 5 years, has stepped down from both roles.

Fringe constitutional survey results posted January 7th, 2010. modified January 16th, 2010. Slightly later than scheduled, the results of the online survey that the Fringe conducted in October on its constitution have been announced - see this article in The Stage. Key items of feedback from respondents include: a limit placed on the tenure of chair of the board; an increase in the number of members of the Society (currently limited to 100); and a desire to see elected board members with expertise in particular areas such as IT and sponsorship. Here is a summary of the results (Microsoft Word format as issued by the Fringe or pdf version). A five strong working group will now discuss the findings with stakeholder groups - including performers, producers and venues - and a set of proposed constitutional changes will eventually be put to the vote in June 2010.

Tattoo gets Royal status posted January 4th, 2010. Royal status has been conferred on the Tattoo which will henceforth be known as the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, as reported in various newspapers, including The Scotsman.

Edinburgh Art Festival 2010 - Impressionist and Surrealist exhibitions posted January 1st, 2010. The major exhibition at the National Galleries' complex this summer will be Impressionist Gardens at The Scottish Royal Academy, featuring around 90 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works. See the press release for further details. Meanwhile, the Dean Gallery will host Another World: Dali, Magritte, Miro and The Surrealists. The exhibition will include the first showing of the complete Surrealist collection of The Scottish Gallery of Modern Art, according to the press release.

Edinburgh Art Festival commissions announced posted December 18th, 2009. Edinburgh Art Festival has announced details of commissions for 2010, supported by the Scottish Government's Expo fund: Richard Wright (recently winner of the 2009 Turner Prize) is to produce a painting for the Dean Gallery; Martin Creed is to produce a public work for the city centre; while the third commission will introduce Scotland's new visual arts talent to the festival audience.

New World theme for EIF in 2010? posted December 16th, 2009. The Scotsman reports that early promotional material appears to indicate that acts from the Americas and Australasia are likely to dominate the 2010 Edinburgh International Festival in celebration of the discovery of the New World 500 years ago.

Work to start on new arena for the Tattoo posted December 9th, 2009. Work will shortly start on the construction of a new temporary arena on The Esplanade for The Tattoo and other events according to The Scotsman. Initial work on the £16m project will involve the replacement of the network of pipes and cables that run under The Esplanade along with the laying of the foundations. Work on the new stands will not commence until after the 2010 Tattoo and they will be used for the first time at the 2011 event.

No rise in Fringe participation fees for 2010 posted November 26th, 2009. The Stage reports some good news for Fringe performers. Kath Mainland, CE of the Edinburgh Fringe, in an interview with the paper, announced that there will be no increase in participation fees for the 2010 festival. This decision has been made in response to the current economic downturn.

London to have its own Fringe in 2010 posted November 24th, 2009. modified November 26th, 2009. News that promoter Greg Tallent, the man behind the 2009 London Bridge Festival, is trying to drum up support for a London Festival Fringe in 2010, dates to correspond with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Needless to say the media has jumped on it ... New London comedy festival will rival Edinburgh next summer (says the Times) ... oh no it wont says The Guardian ... et cetera. The Scotsman's initial response was quite muted.

Book Festival needs more space posted November 21st, 2009. The Scotsman reports that the Book Festival has run out of space in Charlotte Square and is considering expanding into other venues. Possibilities include the Royal Society of Edinburgh's headquarters and the masonic halls in George Street, church halls in George Street and Shandwick Place, and the Filmhouse and Usher Hall.

Funding issues begin to loom posted November 13th, 2009. News that Edinburgh city council has warned the major festivals to expect a 4% cut in budgets in the coming financial year has prompted this article in The Scotsman on funding issues in general. Anybody who monitors the dry subject of festival finance will be aware that 2009 was unlikely to be a major problem despite fears being expressed by many earlier in the year. 2010 and 2011 were always going to be more problematic as the recession hits punters harder and sponsorship becomes more difficult to find and to maintain. This useful article also includes: the impact of the threatened demise of the Lloyds TSB Foundation and the merger of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen; trouble with sponsors, particularly in the banking sector; and the inability of individual festivals to confirm backing for the 2010 festival as negotiations with sponsors continue.

"Why isn't comedy funded by the Arts Council? ..." posted November 5th, 2009. ... is an interesting article in The Guardian. Among others, it draws on Daniel Kitson, Simon Munnery and Mark Watson's The Hotel at this year's Fringe as examples of works that warrant support. However, surely the title of the article should have been "Why isn't some comedy funded by the Arts Council?". The vast majority of comedy, e.g. plain vanilla stand-up, does not warrant support.

Travel trade to offer customers priority access to festival tickets posted October 31st, 2009. As a somewhat paranoid punter who has always been into conspiracy theories I view with great suspicion the news in travelagentcentral.com that Festivals Edinburgh is selling "Edinburgh Festival Passports" to the travel trade. Although there is precious little detail so far on what precisely a passport is, previous rumours have indicated that travel agents will sell holiday packages which will include priority access to tickets. Having struggled to buy tickets lately - it seems to me virtually impossible to get hold of tickets for the Donmar in London even months in advance, sometimes for fairly average shows in the critics' eyes - the general move of organisations to sell large volumes of tickets to the travel trade and other middlemen is bad news for ordinary punters. I will be watching intently for news of this disturbing development.

New Book Festival director appointed posted October 12th, 2009. Nick Barley, previously Executive Director of The Lighthouse design centre in Glasgow and prior to that editor of The List, has been appointed as the new director of the Book Festival. The Times was first to report the appointment, publishing this interview with him. It was eventually followed by a formal announcement on the Book Festival website.

Fringe constitutional review - online survey posted October 4th, 2009. As reported after its AGM in August, the Fringe Society has decided that its constitution is no longer fit for purpose. The Stage provides some further details of the proposed review. The initial step is an online survey which is open to all. This will close on October 31st, 2009. It is expected that the results will be published in December. This will be followed by consultations with key stakeholders early in 2010. June 2010 is earmarked as a likely date for a General Meeting to vote on any constitutional amendments. A brief overview of the review process can be found here. It includes a link to the online survey itself. If you have any trouble (the link was not working when I first tried it) you can start the online survey by clicking here. Beware that this survey has nothing to do with the arts - it is limited to items such as membership rules and make up of the board.

Festivals Edinburgh to grow posted October 2nd, 2009. Festivals Edinburgh, set up to market all Edinburgh's festivals in the wake of the Thundering Hooves report on the festivals back in 2006, are to recruit a head of development and CRM & digital marketing manager, bringing the team size to 7, according to the Drum.

Architect "design tsar" criticises Edinburgh posted September 18th, 2009. The architect Sir Terry Farrell has come to the end of his 5 year tenure as "design tsar" to Edinburgh City Council. As reported in The Scotsman he has signed off by criticising the city fathers for their general inertia and stifling bureaucracy. His targets include: the lack of progress over the creation of a cultural quarter linking Usher Hall with Festival Square, poor decisions with respect to the tram network and the waterfront regeneration, and the lack of pedestrian-friendly crossings at the bottom of Lothian Road, outside the Scottish Royal Academy and the Princes mall.

Fringe to get £125k loan from city council posted September 10th, 2009. The Fringe Society is to get a short term loan of £125k from Edinburgh city council to help with its current cash flow problems, according to The Scotsman. There is also talk of a possible one-off grant of £65k from the arts council. The Society reported a loss of £882K at last month's AGM, due principally to the box office system debacle in 2008.

Usher Hall external changes "relaunch" posted September 9th, 2009. The plans to change the look of the area outside the Usher Hall which are behind schedule have been relaunched. The Scotsman reports the relaunch which now includes talk of erecting a stage for outdoor events during the summer months.

Fringe 2009 ticket sales and other statistics posted September 1st, 2009. Initial statistics have been put out by the Fringe Society for the 2009 festival. They are summarised in The Guardian and The Scotsman. The headline figure is a new record of 1.85m tickets sold. This beats the previous record of 1.7m in 2007 by 9%. Other stats include: 18,901 performers in 34,265 performances of 2,098 shows; comedy made up 35% of the overall programme, theatre 28% and music 16%. While there is no breakdown of audience figures so far the feedback from some venues appears to indicate that increases in attendances at comedy shows may well be attributable to the Scots. As previously stated, despite apprehension in various quarters buoyant ticket sales are not totally unexpected this year. 2010 and 2011 will be more problematic years as the effects of the recession impact on employment numbers. Comedy is least likely to be affected as its audience tends to be younger and is more likely to have the necessary disposable income.

Fringe venues complain about costs posted August 30th, 2009. The Scotsman reported that Fringe chief, Kath Mainland, is to meet venue chiefs who are concerned about rising costs and the future viability of medium-sized venues.

More on the expense of putting on shows at the festival posted August 30th, 2009. This time it is Tommy Sheppard, director of The Stand Comedy Club, writing in The Scotsman on the difficulties faced by comedians.

Free Fringe venues concerned about cost increases posted August 28th, 2009. The Scotsman reports that the Free Fringe chiefs are concerned that tougher licensing restrictions may be imposed on them in future years by the city council after reports of overcrowding at some venues (which are pubs), leading to increases in their costs.

News from Fringe Society AGM posted August 23rd, 2009. The Fringe Society's AGM took place yesterday - August 22nd, 2009. The Observer was first out of the blocks with the news that the box office debacle in 2008 led to an overall loss of £882K in the last financial year. On its balance sheet the Society currently has liabilities of £672K against net assets of £48K, and it estimates that it will take three years to build up adequate reserves. As stated earlier, the Society is consulting artists, venues and audiences to work out performance costs, needs and a modern constitution.

Fringe Society to review its constitution posted August 13th, 2009. The Scotsman reports that the Fringe Society is to start a consultation process in September as part of a project to investigate and possibly revise its constitution (which dates back to 1969). Last year's box office fiasco has obviously made the Society consider that its constitution may no longer be fit for purpose.

Call for a single Edinburgh Festival posted August 12th, 2009. Martin Hannan calls for a single festival rather than the current set of individual festivals.

Earlier news items can be found on the 2009 News Snippets page.