The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Programme – the printed guide to the largest arts festival in the world – has been published today.

According to the Fringe Society, this year’s programme features 3352 shows being performed in 265 venues, with themes covered ranging from “rebellious women to the paranormal; the apocalypse to nostalgia; queer joy to life with illness; rave and club culture to science and technology”.

This year’s programme, says Fringe Society CEO Tony Lankester, is “filled with every kind of performance, so whether you’re excited for theatre or circus, or the best of comedy, music, dance, children’s shows, magic or cabaret, get ready to dare to discover this August”.

The publication of the printed Fringe Programme is not quite as big a deal as it used to be, given shows are announced and tickets go on sale much earlier in the year via the Fringe Society’s website, and on various Fringe venue websites too.

Plus shows continue to be added to the programme online even once the printed brochure is out. Nevertheless, the launch of the printed programme still feels like a key moment in the Edinburgh Festival year.

Lankester continues, “Programme launch is such an exciting moment for everyone involved making the Fringe happen. Thank you to all the Fringe-makers – the artists, venues, workers, producers, technicians, promoters, support staff and audiences that bring their un-matched, exceptional energy to Edinburgh in August”.

As well as the thousands of shows on offer this year, the programme launch also puts the spotlight on some of the new venues and performance spaces that will be in operation during the Fringe this August.

We already knew that The Famous Spiegeltent, a former regular fixture at the Fringe, is returning after a nine year absence, basing itself on Edinburgh’s St Andrew Square throughout July and August.

But that’s not the only spiegeltent added to this year’s programme, with the Mirage Spiegeltent setting itself up at the Gyle Shopping Centre on the outskirts of Edinburgh and presenting ‘Spirit Of The Favela’, described as a “dynamic fusion of circus and theatre showcasing Rio De Janeiro’s vibrant culture and communities”.

Gilded Balloon has a new performance space this year within Edinburgh University’s Appleton Tower on the corner of George Square, hosting 20 shows. And there’s a new venue on George Street in New Town, Braw Venues @ Grand Lodge, presenting an assortment of shows including a bunch of musicals.

Elsewhere, Easter Road Stadium is becoming a Fringe venue hosting two shows; the Citadel Youth Centre will be staging two fundraisers to support its year-round work; and Portobello Town Hall will be home to a mini-festival celebrating Palestinian art and culture.

Photo: Jess Shurte