Edinburgh local and world's most pierced woman hits…

Edinburgh local and world's most pierced woman hits out after Festival Fringe license decision

An Edinburgh local and the world's most pierced woman says she has been refused her license for Festival Fringe this August.

Elaine Davidson, 53, has hit out at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe after claiming she was refused her license for the first two weeks of the world famous art festival - despite the fact she has been a veteran performer at the Fringe for over 20 years.

The iconic Edinburgh performer says she is gutted to miss the first and "biggest" weeks of the festival and concerned about losing income after facing years of financial difficulties due to being an artist in the pandemic.

The Edinburgh Fringe Society said that due to unprecedented demand they have struggled to give spaces this summer and have tried to be as fair as possible distributing pitches to as many performers as possible to ensure pitch spaces are not empty at any point.

Speaking to Edinburgh Live, the entertainer explained: "My application form for the festival has been rejected, the Festival are refusing to accept me in August even though I live and work here all year round.

“After performing so many years on the festival I never had any problems with the licence I tried always to be the best for the public.

"I want to be here every single day of the festival but we've been pushed out and its not fair. How am I going to pay my bills now? Over lockdown everything stopped and we missed out on so much. This year is the first full festival since 2019 and I am gutted to be missing two weeks of it.

"The reason I'm angry is because of Covid-19 everything was behind. I'm an artist and like many other artists I need to work on the Festivals to pay all the bills and the mortgage."

Sharing on Facebook she said: "Just to let you know, the festival have refused to give me a license for the start of the festival even though I have to pay to live here and live here. I don't think it's fair. I am very angry."

Elaine can be seen on the Royal Mile near St Giles Cathedral where she does tarot readings, fortune telling and other spiritual crafts as well as posing for her many fans all year round.

One friend of the pierced lady said: "It won't be the same without you. This seems wrong."

Another exclaimed "That's a total joke, I'm so sorry this happened to you."

While one added: "Don't worry Ms Elaine. You will get your licence."

The Brazilian-born former nurse first broke the record for most piercings in May 2000, when a Guinness World Records official examined her and found 462 piercings on her body, including 192 on her face.

In January 2019 she had 11,003 body Piercings and is still getting more piercings to hold on to the record. In addition to piercing, hair braiding and tattoo work.

The quirky Edinburgh local also sleeps on a bed of nails, walks on fire and lays on broken glass and holds a black belt in Judo which she earned while in Japan.

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A Fringe Society spokesperson told Edinburgh Live: "Fringe Favourites are an integral part of the Edinburgh Fringe experience, and spots are extremely popular every summer.

"The Society aims to ensure a level of fairness and diversity across the Street Events programme, and due to the unprecedented number of applications this summer, we have tried to ensure a presence for as many as possible.

"Places are distributed as fairly as possible, to ensure pitch spaces are not empty at any point during the festival. Our team are always available to discuss any concerns participants may have.

"We issued a permit to Elaine based on her availability for August. The permit process prioritises those who are able to fully inhabit a pitch each week to avoid gaps. Elaine's permit is based on her availability."

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