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Why A Free Festival? The Edinburgh Fringe was founded in 1947 by a number of performers who simply turned up at the Invitation-only Edinburgh International Festival, and put on their own shows, creating a Fringe Festival around the International Festival. Over the years since then, the Fringe has continually expanded, but has still kept its original premise: an arts festival open to anybody who wished to take part.

But problems have arisen for performers and audiences. These are partly due to the Fringe's popularity, and partly due to promoters and venue owners who have upped the cost of hiring spaces, and who have secured more and more locations, making it a closed market for performers finding spaces. Originally, it was an open arts festival that anyone could take part in. Now it is an open arts festival that anyone can take part in — as long as they can afford it.

In recent years the costs associated with bringing a show to the Fringe have spiraled. In some circumstances, a performer can sell all the tickets for all the nights at his or her venue and still make a loss, with the biggest complaint by Fringegoers, whether they are tourists or from Edinburgh being the high price of tickets. Fringegoers have blamed artists for the high ticket prices, but it’s usually the venue who sets the prices, often against the wishes of performers.

What does this mean? The more a show costs, the less people are willing to take a chance on it. If a show featuring an unknown artist costs less than £5, you may take a chance on it If the same show costs over £10, you probably won’t - A Fringe needs to be cheap, or else people will merely see the performers who are already famous — and they don’t need a Fringe! The only shows that put money in the pockets of the artists are usually the shows of the already famous.

The History of the Free shows at the Free Festival Venues

In 2004 Laughing Horse decided to try to run a show under the same restraints, to see if the principle actually worked in a more mainstream environment, and also sponsored the original show. In doing so set-up a "Free Fringe" along with the orignal show's compere. Laughing Horse provided the equipment and management for the venue and and also invited other performers to take the space - one more 'The Fool', did. It was at this stage Alex and Kevin met Linsay Watts, owner of 'Linsay's', who would prove to be instrumental in the expansion of the Free shows and venues. The shows were successful, with good audiences - and with the support and hard work of Linsay, and the promise of sponsorship by Belhaven Brewery to cover some costs, it was decided to expand the shows the following year.

  In 2005 a second room was added at Linsay's, along with another venue - and Laughing Horse supplied equipment and programmed the expanded roster of shows, with the assistant of Kevin Shepherd who organised transportation of the equipment from London. This spurred more growth in 2006 to four venues, with furtehr growth in 2007 and 2008 to eight venues - each year with the Laughing Horse bringing more people to Edinburgh to help with the managing of the event. At the end of 2006 Laughing Horse set up an organisation group of performers, venue owners and promoters who would help shape the way the venues would run in further years, now renaming what they were doing as "The Free Festival", and distancing themselves from the original Free Show compere and his more eccentric views or organising Fringe venues. These were people who wished to return the following years and help expand the event, and assist new performers who would be taking part.

In 2008, the "Free Festival" was once more the largest producer of Free shows at the Fringe, with 156 shows... and in 2009 we have grown again, with 231 show and 3,363 performances! - Check Out www.freefestival.co.uk to read our full 2009 programme!