Fringe on course to sell record number of tickets

The 414-page programme features 3,193 shows, which is a record for the annual August festival. In 299 venues, with 50,771 performances overall.

Last year the festival broke its own record for tickets issued, both free and paid for, registering 1.94m in its run.

This year it looks set to break the 2m barrier with an expanded programme and an expected boost from visitors coming to Scotland to see Glasgow's Commonwealth Games.

Ms Mainland also said that next year, when the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), under its new artistic director Fergus Linehan, moves its dates to coincide with the Fringe, more shows could open in July to maximise their publicity.

However, she added that Edinburgh, despite the Fringe expanding every year, shows no sign of running out of space or venues for the world's biggest arts festival.

"I think that logic would tell you there must be a point where the Fringe reaches saturation, but experience would tell you that it is not," she said.

"When you go through the programme, you will see that the venues remain dynamic, some have moved, some are coming back and I think our venue producers are very entrepreneurial and very committed and dedicated to finding space.

"It seems to be a constantly expanding festival, but I think there are other things that are important about the festival, not just how big it is."

She added: "I think Fergus has done a big and bold thing in asserting what he wants his festival to be, and I think that is good.

"Philosophically, the Fringe and the Festival have been together, and what [the date change] means remains to be seen.

"The combination of the festivals is what makes Edinburgh a great festival city."

Asked whether Fringe shows will seek to open earlier, in July, Ms Mainland said: "Who knows? Fringe companies can do whatever they like.

"There are things that start earlier and others already run quite late."

On the Commonwealth Games boost for the Fringe, which overlaps with the Fringe by three days, from August 1-3, Ms Mainland said: "It's a real opportunity, it's a big year for Scotland and that heightened sense of 'things to do' is very good for us, we may overlap but only just.

"I think it is all to play for. It's a short overlap and then there is another 19 days of the Fringe."

As was perhaps to be expected, the Independence Referendum looms large in the programme, with just under 100 shows inspired by the looming poll.

These include All Back to Bowie's, a "mix of politics, poetry, polemic and pop", as well as the National Collective Presents… at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

Spoiling at the Traverse looks at a future Scottish Foreign Minister torn between her own views and towing the party line, while MacBraveheart: The Other Scottish Play at the Assembly Rooms is billed as a "dystopian view on Scottish identity and independence, contrasting the views of three of Scotland's greatest heroes, Wallace, Bruce and Burns".

Other referendum themed shows include Now's The Hour by Scottish Youth Theatre and Erich McElroy's The British Referendum.

The Fringe is also unveiling a new ticketing system, which includes, among other features, the ability for audience members to post reviews of the shows.

New ticket collection points have been added to the city, including the Institut Français d'Ecosse in the west end of the city and the Domestic Arrivals Hall at Edinburgh Airport.

Other themes prominent in the programme are the First World War, Shakespeare and Dylan Thomas.

This year ten of the BBC's radio networks will broadcast from the Fringe.