Society membership

As an open membership organisation, we’re always looking for new and diverse voices to join the conversation and help shape the future of the Society.

Members are responsible for electing the Board of Directors, adopting the accounts and appointing the auditors each year. Membership costs £5 a year to cover administration costs.

Membership sign-up and renewal form

Log into the members' area

Nominations are open

Nominations to stand for election to the Board of Directors of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society are now open. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society must receive all nominations by 12:00 noon on Monday 19 July 2021.

There are two available seats: one in the Show Participant category and one in the Open category.

For more information on how to stand for election to the Board of Directors, log into the Fringe Society members’ area.

Have your say

Members who have joined the Fringe Society by 12:00 noon on Wednesday 11 August 2021 will be eligible to vote in the coming elections. We encourage you to join us in promoting membership of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society to your networks.

Annual general meeting (AGM)

The AGM will be held on Thursday 26 August on Zoom at 12:00 noon. All are welcome. We will confirm details of how to register for the AGM closer to the time.

The founding principle at the heart of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – to be an open-access arts event that welcomes anyone with a story to tell and a venue to host them – still guides the work of the Society today.

It’s our policy that no single individual or committee determines who can or cannot perform on the Fringe.

The Society was formed in 1958, in recognition of the fact that more and more performers were coming to Edinburgh despite not being included in the Edinburgh International Festival programme. Its earliest tasks included providing information to artists, publishing the Fringe Programme and creating a central box office. In 1969 the Society was incorporated as a limited company and its constitution published.

Unlike many other festivals, our constitution celebrates the fact that the Society does not vet the Fringe Programme. That means we have no artistic director and that the programme is shaped by the initiative and vision of performers willing to showcase their work here.

The Fringe Society exists to

Support, advise and encourage everyone who wants to participate in the Fringe.
Provide information and assistance to help audiences curate their own Fringe experience.
Celebrate the Fringe and what it stands for all over the world.
Ensure the Fringe Society is sustainable, utilising its resource to the greatest benefit of the Fringe and its constituents.

The Society has a Board of Directors which oversees our core Fringe Society staff in their year-round work and makes sure everything is in place to support those who produce and present the world’s biggest explosion of culture every August.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

To help us meet our Blueprint ambitions and make the Fringe as accessible, affordable, connected and relevant as possible we work with a group of Fringe Advisors, representing a wide variety of different backgrounds and perspectives.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT FRINGE ADVISORS

Who can become a member?

Anyone can become a member of the Fringe Society. From artists and venue representatives to local residents and regular Fringe-goers, everyone who has an interest is welcome.

It’s important that our membership is diverse and actively represents the breadth of people who engage with the Fringe and values of the Fringe Society. Our ambition is to grow a more representative membership, from different ethnicities, young people, local residents, working class people, D/deaf and disabled people, to bring fresh perspective and voices to the table.
Why should I become a member?
How can I become a member?
What responsibilities does a member have?
Who can attend the AGM?
How can I vote in the upcoming AGM?

If you’re a Society member, you’ll be sent voting instructions by Electoral Reform Services (ERS) who are administering the election on our behalf. The date you receive these instructions will depend on when you signed up as a member. If you haven’t received voting instructions by Friday 13 August, and believe you are eligible to vote, please contact [email protected] by Tuesday 17 August.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is the organisation that underpins the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Its core aims are to support participants, assist Fringe audiences and celebrate the Fringe and what it stands for all over the world.

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