For Producers & industry professionals

EdFest

What is EdFest?

EdFest is a gathering of eight of the core venues that present a world-class programme of shows as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; Assembly, C ARTS, Gilded Balloon, Just the Tonic, Pleasance, Summerhall Arts, Underbelly and ZOO.

This collaboration was initiated in 2022 after the impact of the Covid pandemic that created a two-year hiatus for the Festival. 2020 was cancelled. And in 2021, most of the EdFest venues operated at about ten percent of what they did pre-pandemic. The endeavour behind working together is to collaborate on all the complexities of rebuilding this incredible event and at the heart of it is our commitment to programming world-class shows and creating wonderful experiences for audiences.

Edfest.com brings together all the EdFest shows under our collective banner and makes it easy for customers to buy tickets for any of the eight venues in one basket. There is a search function that helps you find what you want to see when. Show pages with information from the venues and presenting companies.

Why EdFest.com?

• Lower Booking Fees: Capped at £5 vs. competitors charging up to £7.50 — saving audiences £2.50 per transaction.
• Shared Revenue: 50% of booking fee income goes directly to venues, supporting those who make the festival happen.
• Better for Artists & Venues:
  • Only 3% commission
  • Full control over show listings and promotions
  • Less commission meaning more money to artists and venues. 

Love the Fringe

What is Love the Fringe?

Love the Fringe is a pioneering membership initiative run by seven of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe's most influential venues: Assembly, C ARTS, Gilded Balloon, Just the Tonic, Pleasance, Underbelly and ZOO. Designed to enhance accessibility and sustainability at the Fringe, this scheme invites audiences to support the arts while enjoying a range of benefits. With over a million tickets available per week during the festival, Love the Fringe aims to make better use of existing resources while championing fairer opportunities for artists and venues.

To take part in Love the Fringe or to list your show on EdFest.com please contact [email protected].

Benefits for Members

Members of Love the Fringe enjoy a host of exclusive perks designed to enrich their festival experience. These include:

• Access to free tickets
• Exclusive discounts on shows, festival bars and local businesses
• A review digest highlighting the best shows at the fringe
• a nd much more!

In return for their support, members not only gain more value from their festival visits but also contribute directly to the sustainability of the event.

Benefits for Artists and Venues

The scheme brings tangible benefits to the artists and venues who participate. Revenue generated from memberships provides direct financial support, helping to offset production and operational costs. Participating shows also gain increased visibility through promotional efforts linked to the membership, attracting new audiences. Furthermore, artists and venues are encouraged to make use of unsold tickets by offering them as part of the scheme turning potential losses into opportunities for engagement and income.

The 50/50 Scheme: A Fairer Revenue Model

At the heart of Love the Fringe is a 3-year pilot programme based on a 50/50 profit-sharing model. After operational costs are deducted from membership revenue, the remaining profit is split equally between artists and venues. For example, if £100 in membership sales results in a £70 profit after costs, then £35 is allocated to artists and £35 to venues. This equitable model ensures that even free ticket redemptions contribute value to those who create and host performances, supporting a more sustainable approach to discount ticketing.

The 3% Commitment: How Shows Participate

To be part of the scheme, shows are asked to allocate as little as just 3% of their total ticket inventory to Love the Fringe promotions.

For example, a show in a 100-seat venue performing 27 times would contribute 81 tickets. These can be evenly spread across performances or distributed strategically, such as offering more during quieter weekdays. 

Participating shows also have the flexibility to offer additional deals on EdFest.com, such as 2-for-1 offers or discounted prices. This approach maximises audience reach without significantly impacting potential box office income.

2025 Target and Long-Term Vision

The scheme's goal for 2025 is to reach 18,000 memberships, generating around £500,000 in revenue. After covering costs, an estimated £400,000 or more would go directly to artists, producers, and venues. This financial boost, driven by community support, could make a significant difference to those staging work at the Fringe.

In Summary

Love the Fringe is more than just a membership. It's a collaborative initiative to reshape the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the better. By making the festival more accessible and affordable for audiences, fairly compensating artists and venues, and promoting more efficient use of available inventory, the scheme helps build a stronger, more inclusive festival community. It offers a practical and positive solution to some of the challenges facing the Fringe today, while fostering a loyal and engaged audience for the future.

CLAIMING SHOWS AND ADDING OFFERS

How to Claim Your Show on EdFest.com?

We are delighted to offer our 'Claim Your Show' feature for Producers, Performers and Marketing & PR associates. By claiming your show you can add additional copy, tour dates, line-ups, videos, sizzle reels, social links.

Find out how to claim your show here.

How to Add an EdFest Offer?

Companies with participating venues can add their own offers straight onto EdFest.com to get more people in to see your show and spread the word about how fantastic it is.

Find out how to add offers here.

How to Adjust Your Love the Fringe Allocation?

We are currently waiting in our ticketing agency to confirm the implementation of this function. A guide on how to adjust your Love the Fringe allocation will go here once this has been confirmed, so please do keep an eye on this webpage.

Love the fringe day - 2nd of August, and how to take part?

Find out more about Love the Fringe Day and how to take part here.

LOVE THE FRINGE AND WOWCHER PARTNERSHIP

The Deal

We will be offering audiences a £39 "Love the Fringe" membership, which includes: (Exclusive to Wowcher and their other sites only)

• 6 free tickets to shows listed as part of Love the Fringe (from participating venues)
• Redemption: A unique code sent by the platform, which they redeem on Edfest to unlock their Wowcher-exclusive membership tier. This is all automated, and nothing will be required from you except adding Love the fringe allocation to your shows if you have not done that yet.

This tier is different from what's publicly available, offering a fresh route for first-time audiences to access the Fringe.

Why is this worth?

We've chosen these platforms because of their reach, conversion power, and value alignment with our goals:

• Wowcher alone sees over 5.3 million site visits per month, and together the platforms boast ** ** across the UK and Ireland.
• These platforms target deal-savvy, experience-focused audiences - especially in the 25--44 age bracket - many of whom haven't yet engaged with the Fringe.
• Wowcher sells on average 5304 deals per day and ranks top in the UK's "Coupons & Rebates" category.
• LivingSocial sees high engagement from ABC1 households, with an average customer income of £39.6k and 78% female demographic -- ideal for arts and live events.
• 5pm.co.uk has a strong presence in Glasgow and Edinburgh and is trusted for hospitality and entertainment offers.

Fully Managed 

• No extra ticket allocation required. These offers use existing capacity.
• We manage all tech: listings, codes, redemption, and customer support.
• The only cost involved is a 20% commission taken by the deal platform (Wowcher). Based on the £39 membership price, the practical ticket value to venues is approximately £5.20 per ticket, about £1 less than our standard online sale price. However, because the platforms handle all customer payments, we avoid Stripe or card processing fees, making this a more cost-effective and efficient model overall.

What's in it for us?

• Increased visibility with a curated set of new audiences actively seeking live experiences
• Guaranteed promotional support through high-traffic platforms and large subscriber bases
• Controlled participation. Only select shows are included, not entire venue lineups
• Flexible setup that protects your margins and brand integrity
• Centralised handling of discount platform listings. This initiative saves venues time and energy when producers approach you about listing shows on sites like Wowcher, itison, or LivingSocial. You can now simply redirect them to Love the Fringe, which not only fills that need but also ensures their shows are represented consistently and professionally across multiple platforms. All under one coordinated system.

This isn't about flooding shows with discounted tickets but it's a carefully structured initiative that helps fill houses early and efficiently, with enthusiastic new faces.

CONTACT US

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our dedicated Edfest team at [email protected].