Fringe show A Comedy Of Operas. Photo / Roberto Ricciuti
Three-time attendee Beks Lockie shares her hard-earned wisdom for those heading to the world’s largest performance arts festival
The Edinburgh Fringe is coming up again this August, when more than 3000 shows and events will take over Scotland’s capital city with more art and performance than you could dream of. It’s impossible to see and do everything during the festival and the scale can be overwhelming – especially for a first timer! I’ve made plenty of mistakes while attending the festival over the past three years, so here are some common traps to avoid for a seamless experience.
1. Booking accommodation too late
Around 700,000 people descend on Edinburgh for the Fringe across the three weeks – more than doubling the city’s population – so accommodation options are limited and famously expensive. As soon as you decide to go to Fringe, before doing anything else, book your accommodation while you still have options. If the hotels in the Old Town are fully booked, the suburbs of Stockbridge, Leith and Marchmont are lovely alternatives that are only a short walk from the action.
2. Not mapping things out
The only way to make the breadth of Fringe feel manageable is to map out a schedule. If there are any performances you are desperate to see, book them well in advance. Tickets for 2025 are already available to purchase, and big names regularly sell out. Next, find other events that fit around your top shows: both in terms of timing and (I can’t stress this enough) location. Events are happening across the city and, if you don’t plot out the walking times between shows, you might find yourself running for 30 minutes to get to your next performance on time (speaking from experience). If you want to squeeze a lot in, try to cluster nearby events together to avoid running laps around the festival rather than having time to enjoy it.
3. Leaving no room for spontaneity
If you’re anything like me, once you get stuck into the enormous catalogue of shows, it can be tempting to pre-plan your entire visit minute-by-minute to see as much as possible. But part of the magic of Fringe is following the buzz of reviews and flyers that take you to see performances that you may never have considered from reading a three-line blurb on the website. The sweet spot for me is booking three to four events per day in advance and still leaving plenty of room to stumble upon something great (or at least very unique).
4. Only seeing comedy acts
My first introduction to the Edinburgh Fringe was through comedy. After all, the Fringe is where a lot of outstanding comedians get their big break, not least our own Rose Matefeo, who won Best Show in 2018. But the festival spans so much more, with everything from cabaret and circus acts to spoken word poetry and art exhibitions taking place. Try to dabble in a little bit of everything during your visit. Variety is the spice of life, after all.
5. Skipping Free Fringe
A critical part of the Edinburgh Fringe culture is that anyone can put on a show and there are free shows anyone can attend. The Free Fringe has been putting on shows as part of the Fringe since 1996. They don’t charge performers for their performance space and admission is free to the public on a first-come, first-served basis – although “pay as you wish” donations are encouraged. Take a look at the Free Fringe schedule of over 400 shows to see what’s happening this year and support some fresh talent.
6. Having a ‘Fringe-Only’ itinerary
If you’ve come all the way to Edinburgh from New Zealand, you need to make some time to explore this beautiful city. Most of the Fringe performances are scheduled from the afternoon onwards, so the morning is the best time to see the sights. A walk along the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle is especially lively during the Fringe with all of the street performers and the hike up to Arthur’s Seat has become something of a rite of passage for visitors – proper shoes are necessary.
7. Underestimating the food scene
The Edinburgh food scene is phenomenal, and while plenty of additional food trucks will be dotted around the city to cater to festival crowds, there are some unmissable food destinations to explore. Try Lannan for delicious pastries, Singapore Coffee House for a unique Scotland-Singaporean brunch, The Palmerston for a pub lunch above the rest and Noto for an effortlessly cool dinner. Booking or queuing for the top spots is essential year-round, but especially during the festival.
8. Skipping Kiwi acts
And it may seem counterintuitive to travel 18,000km just to watch New Zealander performers you could see at home – but somehow it just feels different seeing them thrive on the international stage. This year, you can support a few familiar faces like Hoani Hotene, Guy Williams, Paul Williams, Dan Boerman and Rhys Darby.
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival will run from August 1 to 25 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Tickets for more than 3000 shows are now available.
edfringe.com