Fringe-goers everywhere, rejoice! Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has launched the new app ahead of this year's festival. The official EdFringe 2023 app is now available for download from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Co-sponsored by Playbill, the app will be where artists and audiences will find the most up-to-date information, including the 3,000-plus shows that have registered for this year's Fringe.
The app includes the ability to view and search full show listings, book tickets on the go, and use a "nearby now" feature to find shows starting soon near an attendee's location within Edinburgh. As the festival moves towards ful e-ticketing, e-ticket QR codes are stored within the app for seamless integration with a user's show schedule each day. Users can also buy tickets to multiple shows in one transaction, as well as enable notification alerts that a user's next show is about to start.
Lastly, the app will feature a "Shake to Search" function that will provide a random show suggestion for users by shaking their phones. Users can also filter shows by genre to discover what they're on the lookout for.
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said, “We’re thrilled that the app is out of development and ready to download, giving eager Fringe-goers yet another way to find new shows and discover their new favorite artists. I’d like to encourage everyone to explore the various features on offer—particularly ‘Shake to Search’, introducing them to entirely new and random show suggestions—and to fill their boots when it comes to booking shows!”
READ: What is the Fringe Society? A Guide to Edinburgh Fringe's Support System
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society used feedback from audiences, artists, participants, and venues after the 2022 festival to develop new features for this year's app. The Fringe Society credits the ability to make the new 2023 app happen to sponsorship from Playbill, and support from Synetec, Johnnie Walker Princes Street, and EventScotland. Additional gratitude has been extended to Perth’s Fringe World Festival, which initially introduced The Fringe Society to the app’s Australia-based developers, equ.
Ideas for further expansion of the app in 2024 and beyond are already in development. Users can submit feedback throughout this year's festival to help guide its development for future years.
Check out the app with the video walkthrough below!
Looking for a little guidance to get you started as you begin searching through this year's thousands of shows in the app? Check out these recommendations from Fringe experts Molly Morris and Chris Crouch.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the biggest arts festival in the world, offering thousands of shows every August. This year, Playbill will be going to Edinburgh, Scotland for the festival and we’re taking you with us. Follow along with us this summer as we cover every single aspect of the Fringe, aka our real-life Brigadoon!
