Fringe street events

The Fringe street events will be back from 04 – 28 August 2023.

Fringe street events are among the largest international gatherings of street performers anywhere, taking place throughout the festival and free for anyone to attend.

Each year, the historic Royal Mile and Mound Precinct are transformed into huge street performance playgrounds where hundreds of world-class street artists mix with thousands of festivalgoers, creating the most vibrant and visible event of Edinburgh’s summer.

This page is primarily for the use of street performers – find out more about attending the street events as an audience member.

How do the street events work?

Please note: the information below pertains to Fringe 2022, and may be subject to change in 2023. We will update this page once details for 2023 are confirmed; in the meantime, please regard the following information only as a guideline.

There are eight spaces for buskers and circle show performers in 2022, running continuously from 11:00 – 20:30 at the Mound and 11:00 – 20:45 on the High Street.

Slots last 30 minutes for buskers and 45 minutes for circle shows. Your slot is timed from the moment the pitch is available to when you and all your kit is out of the area.

Performances are scheduled by a draw at the start of each day (see more information on the draw below), with the daily schedule published online by noon. There are also schedule boards at each performance area listing the shows happening that day, plus a large-scale map to guide audiences through the different areas. When registering, don’t forget to add your social media accounts – we often get queries from audience members looking for more info on the performances they saw that day!

Where can I perform? 

We are currently working with the City of Edinburgh Council to finalise the overall street events footprint; so far we can confirm the following:

• Circle pitches
  Mercat Cross, West Parliament Square, Mid High on the High street and the Mound.
• Variety busker pitches
  St Giles Cathedral, Low Mid High and St Giles Street.

The draw

All slots are programmed daily by a draw system to allot performers with a time and a pitch.

Performers meet before 10:00 every morning at Parliament Square to put their passes in the hat ready for the draw at 10:00. These are then pulled out at random: the first performer drawn given first choice of the available time slots and locations, the second performer drawn is given second choice, and so on. If there are slots remaining, they will be allocated by going back up the list of names in reverse order from which they were drawn. 

Registration

Street events registration for 2022 is now closed – we will update this page with information on arrangements for Fringe 2023 once this is confirmed. Please regard the following information as a guideline. 

Registration for buskers and circle shows remains open up to and throughout the Fringe.

How do I register to be part of the street events?

As part of registration, you will be asked to identify which street events category you fall into.

• Street performers (circle shows) 
  Street performers who perform within circles of people. They are capable of entertaining audiences for 45 minutes with a combination of circus skills and comedy. You should only register for these slots if you are an experienced street performer. Slots last 45 minutes and this includes all build and break time required. 
   
• Buskers 
  Performers who can work within a small area, performing to passers-by. Slots last 30 minutes, with five minutes to introduce your act and 25 minutes to perform. 
   
• Finale shows
  If you have something too big and noisy for our regular busking or Fringe stages, you can register to be a finale show. Finale shows happen at the end of each day between 20:15 and 21:00 at the Mound. In the past we’ve had marching bands, huge choirs, drumming groups, brass bands and more. If you’d like more information on whether your performance would be a good fit for this kind of slot, email our team on [email protected]. 
   
• Taster stages for registered Fringe shows
  If you have registered a show as part of the official Fringe programme, you can take part in the Fringe street events to showcase and promote your show by performing an extract on the street. Slots are available throughout the day at Cathedral Square (on Little King Street, next to St James Quarter). These slots are designed to give audiences a taste of your main show and should last 20 minutes. This will run from 05 to 28 August, 11:00 – 18:00; if you have any questions, please get in touch with us via [email protected]. 
   
• Living statues 
  Mime artists who pose as statues, sometimes with realistic, statue-like make-up. We require a level of experience in this category, and spaces for this are limited, so please submit your application as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]. 
   
• Festival favourites 
  Artists and performers providing fun festival experiences on the street, such as portrait artists, henna tattooists, balloonists, etc. All festival favourites will be programmed on the Royal Mile (close to the City Chambers) and the Mound. Spaces for this are limited. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]. 
  

Joint Edinburgh Fringe Street Events Charter

The Street Performer Charter, published in 2022, outlines a set of values shared by the Fringe Society and the street performing community, as represented by the Street Performers' Council. The Charter, which includes commitments from the Fringe Society and street performers, will facilitate fair, open decision making between the two groups. Among its various commitments, the Charter works towards increasing accessibility of street events, taking social responsibility for pay, sustainability goals, and improving health, safety and mental wellbeing among street performers.

Read the street performer charter

Fringe Connect

Fringe Connect is our social network and events space that will be home for artists and arts industry professionals. Street performers are welcome to set up a profile, explore the opportunities section which houses performance opportunities, discounts and more, and attend discussion and networking events.

You will also be able to search for, reach out to and connect with other artists and industry professionals for onward opportunities and connections.

Register for Fringe Connect

As well connecting with other members of the Fringe community on Fringe Connect, there also a few performer groups on social media (such as the Edinburgh Fringe Performers Forum on Facebook) where you can link up with other artists and performers to ask for advice and guidance from peers.

FAQs

Get in touch

If you have general questions about participating in the street events please or contact our street events team on [email protected].