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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Danyel Vanreenen

Edinburgh Fringe opens as organisers call on audiences to ‘mix it up’

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 launches on Friday August 7 (Jess Shurte Photography/Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society/PA) - (Jess Shurte Photography/Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society/PA)

The 2026 Edinburgh Fringe festival opened on Friday, with the organisers calling on audiences to “mix it up” and jump into the thousands of shows on offer over the next four weeks.

There are more than 4,202 shows awaiting audiences across 299 venues in the Scottish capital and artists will undertake in excess of 57,000 performances across the month.

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