Millions of people descended on Edinburgh for the biggest and best festival season yet with record-breaking ticket sales across the city.
The Edinburgh International, Fringe and Book festivals were all hailed as spectacular successes as visitors flocked throughout August to watch comedy, theatre and music shows, as well as talks and readings at the book festival.
There was also a number of free outdoor performances such as a highly acclaimed light show projected on to the Usher Hall to celebrate 50 years of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus.
Almost 2.3 million tickets have been issued for 50,000 Fringe events, up five per cent on last year, and more than 400,000 attended the Edinburgh International Festival, taking £3.8 million in ticket sales and surpassing last year's record receipts by around 19 per cent.
Edinburgh Book Festival had 225,000 visits to Charlotte Square and sold the most books in its 32-year history.
The 2015 EIF has been acclaimed as an outstanding year with highly rated shows including Antigone with Juliette Binoche and Lanark by David Grieg.
Festival director Fergus Linehan said he found his first year in the role exhilarating.
He said: "All that remains is for us to thank the hundreds of artists and hundreds of thousands of audience members who continue to make the Edinburgh International Festival one of the wonders of the arts world.
"This alliance of artists, audiences, government agencies, the media, donors and sponsors is unprecedented and all of us at the Festival office are deeply honoured to be given the opportunity to contribute to this remarkable organisation.
"We will continue to seek out artists of the highest calibre and present their work to the widest possible audience."
Kath Mainland, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: "As this year's Fringe draws to a close we can reflect on what a spectacular success it has been.
"Once again artists and audiences have travelled from across the globe to be a part of this unique cultural event.
"And with an estimated 2,298,090 tickets issued and many thousands of people attending the 800 free shows in the programme, I've no doubt every single person who watched a Fringe show, or experienced this wonderful festival city, will take away unforgettable memories."
Nick Barley, director of the Book Festival, said: “We’ve enjoyed a truly brilliant, exuberant and record-breaking Festival this year – our most successful ever with record ticket and book sales."
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "From the opening notes and illuminations of the spectacular The Harmonium Project to the crescendo of the festival fireworks, this is has been a great year for the Edinburgh International Festival.
"The festival has delivered music, theatre, dance and culture of the highest quality, including Lanark - a remarkable production that we have been proud to support through the Edinburgh Festivals Expo fund.
"I have been impressed how the festival has pushed the boundaries to connect to wider audiences with projects such as Fanfare and 'From Castlebrae with Love."
She added: "This has been another incredible year for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The festival continues to evolve and work with the city to expand and offer more and more to audiences from across the world."
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