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Fringe change call over ticketing | Fringe change call over ticketing |
(about 16 hours later) | |
Edinburgh's Fringe Society has held its annual general meeting, amid calls for a change to how it is run. | |
The board is responsible for the running of the festival, which has been beset with problems at its box office. | The board is responsible for the running of the festival, which has been beset with problems at its box office. |
The AGM was heated, with one venue director claiming the Fringe had been brought to the brink of disaster, but the board stood firm. | |
An independent inquiry has been ordered which will examine the ticketing problems and the future of the society. | |
The Fringe Society was set up almost 50 years ago, when the festival was just a fraction of the size it is today. | The Fringe Society was set up almost 50 years ago, when the festival was just a fraction of the size it is today. |
A board of 15 directors is elected annually and many of them are themselves venue directors and performers. | |
It is responsible for appointing the director and making sure the festival is kept on a sound financial footing. | |
It can't be right that just 78 votes determining the fate of a festival which more than two million people participate in Tommy ShepherdDirector of Stand Comedy Clubs | |
The board had some big issues to consider at Saturday's AGM - not least problems with the centralised Fringe box office - which led to a number of shows being overbooked or described as sold out. | |
Board member and Fringe performer Simon Fanshaw said: "We made the decisions that we thought were right - you don't make a decision and hope it goes wrong. | |
"You make decisions because you take advice and weigh up the balances. | |
"And when something like this happens, we have to learn from it - it's a real learning experience for us." | |
Tommy Shepherd, director of the Stand Comedy Clubs, said he wanted to see major changes to Fringe operations. | |
The Fringe Society itself has just 78 members. | The Fringe Society itself has just 78 members. |
Tommy Shepherd said: "That can't be right. Just 78 votes determining the fate of a festival which more than two million people participate in. | Tommy Shepherd said: "That can't be right. Just 78 votes determining the fate of a festival which more than two million people participate in. |
"So I'd like to see the Fringe Society have a big constitutional review - I'd like to see it change and I think the main debate will be whether it's an individual membership association or a federation of producing venues." | "So I'd like to see the Fringe Society have a big constitutional review - I'd like to see it change and I think the main debate will be whether it's an individual membership association or a federation of producing venues." |