Next year's Edinburgh Fringe could face major disruption because of a talent drain of technicians to the London Olympics, a leading figure has warned.
Anthony Alderson, the director of The Pleasance venue, said he is seriously worried about the Fringe being stripped of its vital back-stage workers such as sound and lighting staff as they find more lucrative work in London for the 2012 Olympics.
He believes it is a major problem that is yet to be properly addressed, and it could lead to production problems at next year’s Fringe.
Mr Alderson was speaking at the annual Edinburgh Festivals open breakfast debate at the Edinburgh International Book Festival yesterday morning.
“At the moment they are all here, but they will be in London next year.
“Where are they going to come from, because London is going to soak them all up?” he said.
He said if technicians were brought in from other countries they would need financial help: “There are people who are very talented and very skilled, but if we are going to get them here, we will need support.”
Faith Liddell, the director of Festivals Edinburgh, the umbrella body of all 12 Edinburgh festivals, said: “We have been in discussion about this. We won’t be able to solve this entirely. We need to work with the Fringe to make this work.
“It’s an area we need to look at now, and perhaps exploit some of the international relationships we have been building in the last two years. One of the things that brings people to this city is the opportunity for skills development. It is something we will be talking about.”
Mr Alderson said all the ancillary and accompanying events around the 2012 Olympics, especially the expected huge number of corporate entertainment events, will draw the most talented back-stage staff to London and create the predicted skills shortage.
He said other major venues at the Fringe have also been discussing the looming problem.He pointed out that the production of hundreds of shows at the Fringe takes many highly experienced and skilled back-stage staff.
“We just need to be aware that we will need some very skilled people,” he said.
“I don’t think we are aware enough of the problem, and are aware of the depth of the problem that it could be.
“We need some funds to try and bring in people from other countries, we need money for flights because we are going to need to bring them in.
“For me to add the cost of a flight for every [technician] is a huge added cost.”
He said it was important to look to Scandinavia and other parts of Europe for technicians to work at the festival next year.
“It’s all going to happen again in 2014,” Mr Alderson added, referring to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s annual general meeting at the weekend, the society’s chief executive Kath Mainland recognised that the added competition from the Olympics could be a “potential threat” to the Fringe, but stressed the society would be working alongside agencies such as Visit Scotland, Visit Britain and Festivals Edinburgh to promote Edinburgh as a destination for Olympic guests and to maintain audience numbers.
The Pleasance founder Christopher Richardson called on the society’s board to “maximise the benefits of the opportunities” presented by the Games, but warned that the Fringe Society had been “talking and talking” about their plans.
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