It the first month of 2016 - but already tickets for shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe are on sale.

Tickets for 18 shows are on sale via the Fringe's website.

More tickets will go on sale in a series of releases in the coming months.

More shows will sell their tickets for this August's festival on February 18, March 17, April 21, May 12 and 26 and the full programme on June 8.

Shows now on sale include Jimeoin at the EICC, Dr Phil's NHS Revolution and standup Daniel Sloss, also at the conference centre, as well as show at the Pleasance and The Space at Symposium Hall.

Last year the Fringe Society announced record breaking figures following the 2015 Fringe with an estimated 2,298,090 tickets issued for shows across Scotland’s capital.

Recently the Fringe announced a new chief executive, Shona McCarthy, the former leader of Derry-Londonderry's year as UK City of Culture.

Ms McCarthy, who has also worked for the British Council, as an arts consultant and a film festival director in Northern Ireland, will take up the post in early March, taking over from Kath Mainland, who is departing after seven record-breaking years as chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society.

There have been on-sale dates in January for the Fringe for the past few years.

Tickets were available from 29 January last year.