The Edinburgh Festival Fringe's 70th birthday will be marked by a "worldwide day of celebration."
World Fringe Day will take place on July 11, and more than 200 Fringe festivals will join together for an "international celebration of creativity."
Shona McCarthy, the chief executive of the Fringe society, which runs the annual festival, announced the plans with Fiona Hyslop, culture secretary for the Scottish Government, announced the event.
Fringe participants and audiences are invited to take part on the day, by celebrating the festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Since the first Fringe was staged in Edinburgh in 1947, Fringe festivals have been established across the globe.
World Fringe Day is funded by £100, 000 from the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo70 fund, given through Creative Scotland.
Ms McCarthy said: "We can’t wait to join with our sister fringes across the world to celebrate the wonder and joy of fringe festivals in this auspicious year.
"This is an incredible opportunity for fringe organisers, venues, participants and audiences to take part in a truly international celebration of creativity that will transcend national boundaries, demonstrating the power of arts and culture to bring people together. "We hope as many people as possible will join us for a very special day of worldwide fringe fun, as we celebrate 70 years of fringe and pay homage to Scotland as the birthplace of the fringe movement.”
Ms Hyslop said: "The Scottish Government is proud to support World Fringe Day through our Edinburgh Festivals Expo70 fund, acknowledging Scotland as the home of fringe and joining with the many other wonderful fringe festivals around the world for an international day of celebration.”
Directors of other Fringes also greeted the news.
Heather Croall of the Adelaide Fringe in Australia said: "The global fringe movement continues to grow from strength to strength, so it seems only fitting to introduce a worldwide day of celebration, where everyone that has been involved in or enjoyed attending a fringe festival can reflect on what fringe means to them."
Adam Mitchell, Executive Director of Edmonton International Fringe Festival, Canada, added: "Fringes come in many different shapes and sizes but are united in their dedication to providing platforms for artists to bring their work to new audiences, allowing them to share their ideas and develop their skills.
"World Fringe Day will provide an excellent opportunity to shout about all that is great about fringe festivals and we hope as many people as possible will get involved."
Tony Lankester, CEO of National Arts Festival, South Africa, said: "In 2017, more than ever before, we need to hear the world’s artists and storytellers loudly and clearly and, more importantly, we need to preserve and promote the spaces in which they can be heard. Nowhere is that done more effectively than on the stages of the world’s fringe festivals."
Further plans for World Fringe Day will be unveiled over the coming months at www.worldfringeday.com.
To mark the 70th anniversary year of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a special open-top tour bus provided by Lothian was unveiled in Edinburgh today.
The bus features 70 fringe fingerprints, each one made up of the names of the towns and cities around the world that host fringes, and will be used on Lothian’s Edinburgh Bus Tours operation.
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