Edinburgh Festival - Natalie

When the client was talking to us about her vision for the New Zealand Festival she mentioned the iconic Edinburgh Fringe Festival a few times,  she said she wanted the New Zealand Festival to have a similar feel and atmosphere to the Edinburgh Festival and liked the culture it seemed to create in the city while it was running.

I feel as though this festival can be good inspiration for us when thinking of ways to improve our own New Zealand Festival.

This is some research I have done into the Edinburgh Fringe Festival - mostly sourced off their webpage.

- The purpose of the festival seems to be to give breaks to young artists/performers as well as stimulating new work in the art scene.
- It's daring
- Acts as a platform or launch for many artists
- As much about the artists experiences as well as the audience
- Gives people who normally wouldn't normally have an artistic outlet an opportunity
- It's known as an extraordinary experience for everyone involved
- "Nourishing to the arts"
- Gives the audience to get up close and personal with the artists, breaking down that wall between viewer and performer.
- The organisers of the festival and the artists both feel like art is integral to life and the festival is a huge amount of fun that people need every year

The areas of the festival include:

Theatre
Comedy
Exhibitions
Musicals
Opera
Cabert
Childrens Shows
Dance and Circus
Music
Spoken Word

- The festival includes big named artists as well as unknown artists looking to build their careers
- Last year the festival had 49,497 performers, 3,193 shows in 299 locations across Edinburgh
- It was developed to enrich European cultural life in the wake of WWII. Since the performers were actually not on the official programme - they performed on the fringes of the festival, which is where the festival got its name.

THEIR 3 OBJECTIVES:

 - Providing support, advice and encouragement to all the amazing artists, producers and venues who create the fringe every year, from help with choosing a venue or writing a press release, to advice on touring, free access to rehearsal space, and professional development activities/events.

- Assisting the audiences who come to Edinburgh by helping you navigate what is on offer within the festival with comprehensive and up to date ticketing and information

- Promoting the wonderful and unique festival to the rest of the world.


Natalie