Bosses at the Edinburgh International Festival have defended the price of tickets for this year’s event after it emerged they are charging up to £150 for some shows – despite public funding worth more than £6 million a year.
Chief executive Francesca Hegyi admitted the festival had been “deliberately pushing” its top-end tickets as part of its current ticketing policy.
She said the “strategy” was helping to allow the festival to sell tickets for as little as £10 across its programme as they were being "cross-subsidised" by the most expensive tickets.
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Ms Hegyi has also defended the festival's use of dynamic pricing, which has seen the price of tickets increased based on demand, and suggested it was helping the festival to “balance its books”.
However, it is unclear how much the 79-year-old has been charging for its top-priced seats since it secured new long-term Scottish Government funding last year.
The EIF, which currently receives around £4.35m a year from the government, also gets almost £2m in funding from the city council, which is expected to increase next year under the city’s visitor levy spending plans.
The EIF no longer publishes full details of ticket prices for its shows and events when they go on sale, instead stating the cost of a standard ticket.
However it has heavily promoted its "affordable tickets" initiatives, stating on its official website: "Costs shouldn't be a barrier to cultural discovery."
The festival, which attracted an overall audience of around 110,000 last year, previously pledged that more than 50,000 tickets for this year’s programme would be available for £30 or less.
And it has committed to making “£10 Give it a Go” tickets available for unsold seats on every day of the festival to people who qualify for one of its concessions, including arts workers, under-30s, and people who are deaf, disabled and neurodivergent.
Ms Hegyi said: “We have adopted a strategy of deliberately pushing our top ticket prices.
“We really want to make the festival accessible to everybody.
“That is why we have got 50,000 tickets at £30 or under and £10 pound tickets for every single performance.
“The way we can manage that is to push our top-end tickets a little bit. Some of them have gone north of £100.
“If you want to book the front row of the dress circle for a particular performance there will be a premium on that.
“Some people are very attached to particular seats in the Usher Hall or the festival. That is great and they pay for that privilege.
“If you really want to see a show and you are not worried about where you are going to be sitting then there are cheaper tickets and there are £10 tickets available for every performance.
“Our approach has been to ensure that there are price points for everybody. We are working really hard to maintain that.”
The EIF has been criticised in recent years for introducing dynamic pricing, which sees the cost of tickets adjusted depending on demand for specific shows.
This year’s official programme states: “Ticket prices may vary from previously published prices, according to demand. This flexible pricing model enables us to offer affordable ticketing initiatives, broadening access to performances.”
Ms Hegyi added: “Dynamic pricing is a very small part of what we do and it is always a human that makes a decision on our ticket prices. We are not letting algorithms run away with it.
“All festivals and all arts organisations have to look at how they balance the books. This is one tool that we have.”
Ms Hegyi said she believe the 79-year-old festival, which runs until August 30, offered “exceptional value for money”.
She added: “You are guaranteed to see a show that is of world-class quality, that has been chosen with real care, and will be performed by artists from all around the world who are really at the top of their game.
“If you look at the Edinburgh International Festival in comparison to other things that are on sale in the city during August, I think it compares very favourably.
“And if you look at what the same performances would cost you in London, the festival offers incredible value for money.”
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