The Edinburgh Fringe Festival

The tag line for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is “defying the norm since 1947”, which is a reflection of the diverse acts, performers, artists and entertainers that flock to the city each year for 3 weeks in August to entertain street crowds and packed venues.

In 2016, the festival is taking place between August 5^th and August 29^th and it surely one of the best times to visit the historic city. The Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world and there are a wide variety of events on across the city, including theater, comedy, dance, circus acts, cabaret, shows for children, musicals, opera and music. The festival regularly attracts big names; however, it’s also a great place to see up-and-coming performers, particularly comedy acts.

The story of the Fringe is intertwined with that of the Edinburgh International Festival, which was created to celebrate European culture after the Second World War. In 1947, eight theater groups turned up to perform at the International Festival uninvited. As they weren’t part of the official program, they performed on the “fringe of the festival” and each year the number of “fringe” performers grew until the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society was established in 1958. This society organized the performers, provided information about them and a program and opened a box office, which saw the Fringe Festival blossom into the large, international event that it is today.

In addition to the events of the festival, Edinburgh has a great many other attractions, such as the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood, Arthur’s Seat and the world-famous National Galleries of Scotland. You can also easily take day trips from Edinburgh to Glasgow, Loch Ness and other locations in the Scottish Highlands. There’s also unusual local cuisine to sample, such as haggis served with neeps and tatties, and a wide selection of the world’s finest Scotch whiskies.

While we believe that Edinburgh makes a worthy addition to a vacation itinerary at any time of the year, the Fringe Festival makes August a particularly exciting and eventful time to visit. If you are thinking about a UK vacation and would like us to put together a tailor-made vacation for you, please contact a member of our team on 1-347-594-5500 or click here to send an online inquiry.