News Snippets from August 2009 to August 2010

Blow for EIFF as Film Council is scrapped posted July 27th, 2010. The UK Film Council has been scrapped as part of the government's economy drive. The council has been a major supporter of the EIFF, awarding it £1.9m in 2008 to help with its rebranding and move to a June festival.

Hints of arts funding cuts to come posted July 24th, 2010. The Guardian reports on hints from Creative Scotland, the newly formed Scottish Arts body, of a 10% cut in subsidies over three years. Joyce McMillan acts as defender of arts subsidies in The Scotsman. These likely cuts come on top of reductions that have been proposed by Edinburgh city council.

Heritage watchdog attempts to block Festival Theatre extension plans posted July 21st, 2010. The Cockburn Association (The Edinburgh Civic Trust) is trying to block the Festival Theatre's development plans for a rehearsal area and student accommodation, saying that it is "mediocre, misguided ... lacking in ambition".

Comedy awards online poll upsets Stewart Lee posted July 20th, 2010. Comedian Stewart Lee has attacked the Fosters' Comedy Awards for introducing an online public poll to vote for your "comedy god". The list of possibles contains all the Perrier and if.comedy nominees over the 30 years of the comedy awards' existence.

Scott Monument becomes a fringe venue for the first time posted July 18th, 2010. The Scott Monument will become venue 283 for this year's festival, hosting a photography exhibition.

Bank of Scotland to cease sponsorship of EIF fireworks concert posted July 17th, 2010. The Herald reports that the Bank of Scotland will cease to sponsor the very popular fireworks concert which is held at the end of the EIF festival after this year's event. Lloyds, its parent company, is in the process of closing 265 Halifax agencies and getting rid of 650 jobs.

Requests for reductions in temporary theatre licensing fees turned down posted July 15th, 2010. The Stage reports that the Fringe Society had asked for reductions in the temporary theatre licensing fees for three venues which it considered worthy of financial assistance. The requests were turned down by the City Council, as was a similar request from Vittoria's Restaurant on Leith Walk.

Festivals Edinburgh awarded £300K for digital initiative posted July 14th, 2010. Festivals Edinburgh, the body which promotes all Edinburgh's fetivals, has been awarded £300K by Creative Scotland to help it set up an Innovation Lab. The stated aim will be "to develop ideas to improve and inspire audience experience, while tackling themes such as helping festival attendees create the best possible experience while also creating new ways to distribute festival content and heighten the environmental credentials of the festivals" ... whatever that quite means?!

Unbound evenings at the Book Festival posted June 30th, 2010. At this year's Book Festival there will be a mini-festival, called Unbound, which will start each evening at 9pm in the Highland Park Spiegeltent where authors can try out new ideas and different approaches to discussing their writing. The programme can be downloaded from The Skinny. Entry is free.

Changes to Fringe constitution delayed posted June 30th, 2010. previous post January 7th, 2010. The Stage reports that the implementation of a revised Fringe constitution has been delayed. It is now unlikely to happen before November at the earliest. The reason for the delay is a current lack of consensus on key questions such as: the eligibility criteria for membership of the Fringe Society; who can be a director of the Fringe Society; and how a director should be appointed.

Amnesty International announces 2010 festival events posted June 28th, 2010. Amnesty International has announced details of its 2010 festival events, including: the Stand Up for Freedom comedy event at the EICC on Thursday 19th August, 2010; the Imprisoned Writer Series at the Book Festival when each day a well-known writer reads from the writings of a person who has been locked up, threatened, et cetera; and an exhibition by six Scottish graffiti artists at the C Venues SoCo Urban Garden, on Edinburgh's Cowgate.

Laughing Horse loses main sponsor posted June 23rd, 2010. Laughing Horse, one of the two major promoters who put on free shows at the Fringe, has lost its major sponsor. Known as The Edinburgh Free Festival, it plans to hold an auction in early July in an attempt to find another sponsor. The other major promoter of free shows is Peter Buckley Hill's The Free Fringe.

More on Book Festival desires to expand posted June 19th, 2010. The Book Festival 's need for more physical space was mentioned in the late autumn. Now an article in The Herald highlights a desire to expand in Charlotte Square itself. The idea is to close off the north and west sides of the square during the festival.

2010 Book Festival programme launched posted June 17th, 2010. The programme for the 2010 Edinburgh International Book Festival was announced today. There will be 750 authors from 50 countries.

Concerns of a venue posted June 17th, 2010. There is an interesting short article in The Scotsman by Karen Koren, founder of the Gilded Balloon, on the concerns of venues during the recession.

Traverse shows to be screened in cinemas via the Internet posted June 12th, 2010. The Stage reports that Hibrow Productions are to record all the Impossible Things before Breakfast rehearsed readings and then transmit them simultaneously via the Internet to participating Picturehouse and other cinemas across the UK on the evening of August 23rd, 2010.

2010 Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival announced posted June 11th, 2010. The Scotsman reports on the unveiling of the 2010 Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival. The festival's website now contains full details of the programme.

2010 Fringe programme launched posted June 10th, 2010. modified June 11th, 2010. The 2010 Fringe programme was launched this morning. The stats, which the Fringe loves to trot out to demonstrate just how big it is, include: 40,254 performances of 2,453 shows involving 21,148 performers. Background info on the launch and links to early media feedback can be found here. The official unveiling of the programme eventually appeared in the revamped Fringe website when it went live the following day.

Fringe unveils official 2010 poster posted June 5th, 2010. modified June 10th, 2010. The winning entry in this year's competition has been announced. The winner was 13-year-old Morven Donals, from Park Mains High School in Erskine. Her design was chosen from over 2,500 entries.

Join the EIF's INcrowd posted June 4th, 2010. In association with The Skinny, the International Festival is attempting to attract more younger people. For a £20 joining fee young punters will be offered: discounts on selected performances; invitations to dress rehearsals; plus attendance at VIP parties and other "meet the artist" events. Details, including information on the launch party on June 23rd, can be found here on the EIF website.

2010 Art Festival unveiled posted June 3rd, 2010. modified June 7th, 2010. Details of this year's Art Festival were unveiled yesterday. A comprehensive article on the launch appears in Art Daily. A couple of days later the press release (Microsoft Word format only) was subsequently made available on the Art Festival website. However, the site has not so far been updated with the full 2010 festival details.

Deuchars IPA Fringe venue boards posted June 3rd, 2010. The Stage reports that the Fringe has entered into a three year sponsorship deal with the Caledonian Brewery. Deuchars IPA, one of its flagship beers, will appear on all Fringe venue boards and on the Fringe venue map in the programme brochure. The brewery itself will also become a venue - venue 268 - and host its own events in August.

Edinburgh Film Festival faces future funding challenges posted June 2nd, 2010. The Scotsman reports that the Film Festival faces funding issues after this year's festival. The budget for 2010 is £1.38m and although new sponsors have appeared - CityJet and Moet & Chandon - EIFF has been relying on a £1.9m grant in 2008 (spread over 3 years) from the UK Film Council. This grant is running out and is unlikely to be renewed, not least because the council is having to make cuts as it is losing some of its lottery funding to the 2012 Olympics.

Edinburgh Film Festival belated 2010 programme launch posted June 1st, 2010. The Edinburgh International Film Festival has belatedly announced the 2010 programme, only two weeks before the festival starts. It has come in for a reasonable amount of criticism for this decision. Their defence is that the financial crisis has limited the appearances of film makers at film festivals this year ... and they have been waiting to see if they would be appearing at Cannes before making a decision on Edinburgh. The full programmme can be viewed on the EIFF website.

Festival in the Sky posted June 1st, 2010. Dinner in the Sky, which has been held in 30+ countries including Paris and Las Vegas, will come to Edinburgh in August - renamed Festival in the Sky for the occasion of course. Daring punters will be hoisted by a giant crane (situated in West Princes Street Gardens) 100 feet into the air for a 30 minute dining experience. The specially constructed table seats 22 diners who can book for breakfast, lunch, dinner or special events including Burns suppers.

Jobs at the Fringe posted May 29th, 2010. The Fringe is currently looking for staff for this year's event, as indeed are some of the venues. The large venues - Assembly, Pleasance, Gilded Balloon and Underbelly - tend to recruit separately, so it is best to go to their individual websites for information.

C adds established venues to its stable posted May 27th, 2010. C Venues, arguably the largest Fringe venue organisation after the big four - Assembly, Pleasance, Gilded Balloon and Underbelly - will be adding two long-established venues to its stable this year. They are the George Street Theatre and the Roman Eagle Lodge.

Foster's to sponsor Edinburgh Comedy Awards posted May 26th, 2010. Foster's, the Australian drinks company, is to sponsor the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Perrier, the original sponsor back in 1981 eventually withdrew in 2005 to be replaced by Intelligent Finance, the banking firm. Unfortunately, the financial crisis forced them to withdraw in turn after the 2008 festival, and no sponsor could be found for 2009 when Nica Burns, the original founder of the awards put her hands in her own pockets to keep it going.

Magic festival update posted May 24th, 2010. Here is the 9 page programme booklet for the festival. Please note that all tickets are now on sale. The festival is looking for volunteers and it has announced two competitions for amateurs, War of the Wizards for Under 18s and Open War of the Wizards.

Calls for cheaper accommodation posted May 19th, 2010. modified May 20th, 2010. During the recent debate on the costs of taking a show to the Fringe on BBC Radio Scotland's Culture Café programme, Guy Masterson, producer, director, actor and Fringe stalwart, called for cheaper accommodation for performers. In an article in The Scotsman Charlie Wood, co-director of the Underbelly and Councillor Steve Cardownie, the city's festivals champion, call for cheaper accommodation for punters. It is rumoured that the city chiefs are looking at campsite solutions, although this avenue has been explored unsuccessfully several times in the past. See Potential Threats to the Future of the Edinburgh Festival for a more general discussion on factors which may affect punters and performers.

Film Festival to promote Scottish producers at four festivals posted May 18th, 2010. The Film Festival is to promote selected Scottish producers at EIFF 2010 and three other festivals over the next 12 months through their "Features Scotland" 2010 programme which is supported by the Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo fund and Scottish Screen.

The World@St. George's West withdraws from Fringe 2010 posted May 18th, 2010. The BBC reports that The World venue which puts on music and dance and has used St. George's West church in Shandwick Place for a number of years has withdrawn from this year's Fringe after losing £140K over the last two years. It plans to look for an alternative venue nearer to the High St. in 2011.

"Jazz on a Summer's Day" in jeopardy posted May 17th, 2010. Assembly's use of Princes Street Gardens for this year's Fringe looks likely to prevent the Jazz Festival from holding its popular annual free "Jazz on a Summer's Day" which was scheduled for August 1st, 2010, according to The Scotsman. The Assembly has indicated that it will require access to the site from July 20th onwards. The Jazz Festival is currently investigating the possibility of an alternative venue.

Burdett-Coutts criticised for opposition to Assembly refurbishment plans posted May 6th, 2010. William Burdett-Coutts, the artistic director of Assembly, has been criticised by the city council for opposing its plans to refurbish the Assembly Rooms. The Scotsman reports that he has admitted to approaching the Heritage Lottery Fund with his concerns over the plans. The fund subsequently rejected the council's application for a £2.7m grant.

Drip-feed of show announcements by major Fringe venues posted May 6th, 2010. modified May 17th, 2010. The Stand, one of the popular comedy venues on the Fringe, is the latest to announce its line-up for the 2010 festival. Terry Sheppard, the club's director, has said that he would have preferred to have waited for the official Fringe programme launch on June 10th but other venues had already started to drip-feed details of their programmes and he felt forced to follow suit. The Underbelly was the first to break ranks by announcing the line-up at its McEwan's Hall venue, followed by Assembly who have announced four shows. The Scotsman added (on May 14th, 2010) that the Pleasance and the Gilded Balloon have joined in the game of pre-announcements, giving news of a limited number of shows on sale.

More on the costs of taking a show to the Fringe posted May 5th, 2010. BBC Radio Scotland's Culture Café programme plans to have a discussion on the costs of taking a show to the Fringe next Tuesday (May 11th). I understand that it will be on roughly around 1:30pm for about 20 minutes. Listeners outside Scotland will subsequently be able to access it via the BBC iPlayer at this link.

Cost of venue hire generates debate posted April 27th, 2010. A theatre blog in the Guardian by Eleanor Turney bemoans the cost of venue fees on the Fringe. It is a limited article in terms of addressing the costs of taking a show to Edinburgh - Richard Wray's blog from 2007 is more coherent and informative - but it has generated a fair amount of comment from the likes of Peter Buckley Hill, founder and artistic director of the Free Fringe, Thomas Sandford, artistic director of Paradise Green (who run Augustines and The Vault) and Chris Cooke, co-publisher of the review paper ThreeWeeks and others. It is worth a browse, particularly for the comments.

Additional Pleasance venue posted April 21st, 2010. The approach of the deadline for the 2010 Fringe programme (which is in fact today) has produced news of a number of venue changes over the last week or so. The latest announcement is that the Pleasance, one of the four super venues who have multiple sites, have signed a deal to use the Ghillie Dhu nightspot in Rutland Place, adjacent to the Caledonian Hotel, at the west end of Princes Street. This is the first time that the Pleasance has had a venue outside the south side area.

Magic Festival starting to take shape posted April 15th, 2010. modified April 19th, 2010. The Scotsman has reported that the inaugural Magic Festival in July (7th to 11th) is starting to take shape. 20 acts have so far been signed up, including Paul Wilson, Drew McAdams and Jon Archer. Shows will be held in various venues, including The Netherbow Theatre, The Lot and The Vault. Programme information has started to appear on www.magicfest.co.uk.

Reappearance of Spiegeltent in doubt posted April 13th, 2010. modified June 11th, 2010 The popular Spiegeltent venue which did not appear at the 2009 Fringe may not make a comeback this year due to eleventh hour problems over the use of the site, according to The Scotsman. There is not long to sort the problem out as the deadline for the Fringe programme is April 21st. Update on June 11th, 2010 - problems obviously resolved. The Spiegeltent will be hosting Smoke and Mirrors in George Square Gardens.

Assembly plans to use Princes St Gardens as a venue posted April 12th, 2010. The Scotsman reports that the Assembly is in discussions to use Princes Street Gardens as a Fringe venue, installing a giant marquee in the Ross Theatre area.

The Illusionist for Film Festival's Opening Gala posted April 8th, 2010. Although the full 2010 festival programme will not be announced until June 1st, 2010, with the box office opening on June 3rd, the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has announced Sylvain Chomet's animated feature film The Illusionist for the opening night gala at the Festival Theatre on June 16th, 2010.

Festival Theatre to host Film Festival opening gala posted April 1st, 2010. The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has announced that the Festival Theatre will host the opening night gala on June 16th, 2010. The theatre has received a grant of £245,000 to install the necessary facilities to show film. The EIFF has also announced that the full 2010 festival programme will not be announced until June 1st, 2010, with the box office opening on June 3rd.

More drinking time during the festival posted March 30th, 2010. The city's licensing board has agreed to increase the number of days that the two hour extension to the opening hours of pubs and clubs will apply to during the festival. According to The Scotsman, the period was increased from 21 to 28 days in 2009. In 2010 it will be increased by a further 3 days to 31.

EIF - very busy first day of public booking posted March 28th, 2010. The EIF says that it is close to last year's opening day take of £270K. It is claimed that four or five shows have already sold out including the closing concert at the Usher Hall. Particularly strong selling shows are Porgy and Bess, Grupo Corpo and Caledonia.

Assembly Rooms refurbishment plans in disarray posted March 27th, 2010. The Scotsman reports that the city council's plans to refurbish the Assembly Rooms are in disarray because an application for £2.7m of lottery funding has been turned down for a second time. The plans, which would involve closing the building for 18 months leading up to the 2012 festival, have long been objected to by William Burdett-Coutts, the artistic director of Assembly Festival.

Fringe wants help to design 2010 programme cover posted March 22nd, 2010. The Fringe is asking for ideas for the design of the cover to the 2010 programme. They can be submitted via Twitter or email. On Thursday and Friday this week (25th and 26th March) it will be possible to go onto the website and see the best ideas being illustrated by Johanna Basford. The programme, with its cover, is expected to be available on 10th June.

Creative Scotland's main base to be in Edinburgh posted March 19th, 2010. The Stage and others report that Edinburgh has been chosen as the main base for Creative Scotland. Subject to confirmation, the agency's chief executive and the majority of its 123 staff will be housed in Waverley Gate, the old General Post Office building opposite the Balmoral Hotel, from June this year. Creative Scotland is the merging of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. The current Scottish Screen office in Glasgow will be retained.

2010 International Festival programme launched posted March 17th, 2010. The 2010 EIF programme was unveiled this morning by Jonathan Mills, the artistic director, and Fiona Hyslop, the Scottish Culture Minister. As rumoured before Christmas this year's theme is the New World, focusing on the Americas and Australasia. Initial information and links to early media feedback can be found here.

Details of proposed Festival Theatre extensions posted March 16th, 2010. Details of the proposed extension work at the Festival Theatre have been announced. The estimated £2.8m project, which still requires planning permission, will provide a large rehearsal space at the rear of the building. It is expected that this area will also be used by local performance groups and could act as a Fringe venue.

Magic Festival for Edinburgh posted March 7th, 2010. modified March 15th, 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. Programmes, when they are available, can be ordered via www.magicfest.co.uk. 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.