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I've wanted to visit the Edinburgh Fringe for some time now and if not this year, then almost certainly next year. How do I go about it? Are there tickets to the festival itself or do I buy tickets for each individual event comprising it? Are there free events? Is it just comedy or does it showcase other kinds of art?

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"Festival time" in Edinburgh comprises most of the month of August. There are actually festivals in Edinburgh throughout the year, but in August several festivals overlap - the biggest of which is of course the Edinburgh Fringe.

You don't buy tickets for the festival itself, as it's really just a collection of events held at different fringe venues around town. You can buy tickets for the individual events at the venues or at the Fringe Box Office on the Royal Mile (or the Fringe website, and go and pick them up at the box office). You will need to book in advance for the most popular shows, but if you don't have anything specific in mind you can turn up and see what's available (see below).

The meat of the Fringe is comedy, but you can also find dance, drama, musical theatre, acrobatics, improv, children's shows and more. That's not even including the International Festival, Art Festival and International Book Festival (and probably more) that are also on in August.

Ways to find out what's on:

  • Go to one of the venues (that will tell you what's on at that particular venue - handy if you're already there seeing something else and want something nearby)
  • Pick up a Fringe guide - you can find them in a lot of Fringe venues, sometimes in restaurants and cafés on the Royal Mile or other tourist-centric places, or places like libraries (for us locals). If you want to plan your events ahead of time, I believe you can get a copy posted to you from the website, but you have to pay P&P.
  • Walk down the Royal Mile and wait to be accosted by people giving you leaflets for their shows

There are plenty of free events - both street performances on the Royal Mile (circus tricks, magic, etc.) and "free Fringe" events at selected venues. There is usually an expectation, however, that you will pay if you liked the show (a bucket goes round) in order to reward the performers. But no one forces you to - much like no one forces you to pay a service charge in a restaurant - and if you do choose to pay, you can pay what you want.

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    Might be worth pointing out that popular events sell out, so while you can just turn up 15 minutes before and buy a ticket for some shows, others need booking in advance (from the venue or the Fringe box office or online)
    – Gagravarr
    Mar 1, 2015 at 15:06
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    The Fringe schedule is also available by web and the Fringe App (definitely iOS, don't know about Android). I found the interactive interface very difficult to use, but better than nothing. Mar 2, 2015 at 3:22
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    For "what's on around 4pm", there's normally a free daily program around (sponsor varies from year to year). Another thing to suggest is the "half price hut" (sponsor varies), if you're not sure what to see then head there and get a cheap ticket for something that day
    – Gagravarr
    Mar 2, 2015 at 4:05
  • The fringe app is on android also. Used it with great success just a week ago. Awesome festival!
    – froderik
    Aug 27, 2015 at 13:36
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There are more than 3000 events in a wide variety of categories happening this year. You can find details and book tickets at the official website.

Tickets are per-event, but you can expect an amount of free entertainment on the streets of Edinburgh, in particular along the Royal Mile.

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    There's also quite a few "free" events at the fringe, where you donate what you feel the show was worth on the way out
    – Gagravarr
    Jul 5, 2016 at 14:42

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