Notes From The Smoking Area

Hear ye! Hear ye!

It is the 79th Edinburgh Fringe Festival where over 4,000 different shows will be performed in the city in the month of August.

A city already full of tourists anticipating to sell over 2.5 million tickets and welcome over 25,000 performers.

As someone who has lived in Edinburgh for 6 years now, I have seen the way in which the city changes throughout the months of July-September.

The prep meaning areas of our city closed or inaccessible.

I have been someone who has been known to enjoy the Fringe.

Last year seeing a Shrek themed burlesque show.

Miriam Margolyes reading Shakespeare.

Rosie O’Donnell’s one woman show.

Among other ghastly shows that I don’t care to mention.

But I enjoyed it.

Even last night heading to George Square to play cards and spend £7.50 on a pint.

The kind of people that the Fringe bring out are often times people who would not get the chance to perform their show any other way.

Shows like Fleabag or Six The Musical first being performed at the Fringe, show how life changing this event can be.

The nature of the Fringe is to invite people regardless of their social, economic or cultural background to come to the city and share their art with us.

Now whether you think a man dressed as Shrek twirling nipple tassels on stage is art is your prerogative.

Personally, I think the Fringe is a great opportunity for under represented groups to show their skills and passions in a safe, welcoming environment.

Despite how uplifting of an experience the Fringe can be for many performers I can’t help but think about those living on the actual fringes of Edinburgh.

How does this improve their lives?

It is their city too after all.

Now I don’t mean the kind of Edinburgher who complains about the price of a pint or the business of a bus service.

I mean how does the Fringe impact communities like Niddrie or Craigmillar or Oxgangs?

The festival should leave behind more than just posters on lampposts.

It is as though the Fringe is relying on the classic trickle down effect to help support communities within Edinburgh- but have you seen any of the over £800 million that was generated last year?

I certainly haven’t and I live a 20 minute walk from the city centre.

What should a city that has nearly £1 billion, from one month long event, running through it actually look like?

Not thousands of people waiting for permanent housing while thousands profit from quadrupling their accommodation prices in the month of August.

An estimated 8,000-10,000 short term rentals (think Air B&B) are available in Edinburgh in the month of August with most if not all of them being fully booked throughout the entirety of the month.

In a FOI request from 2019 the Scottish Government revealed that 41% of visitors in Edinburgh were visitors from overseas in the months July- September.

Certainly many of the over 800,000 visitors will choose to stay in hotels, many will choose to stay in apartments, especially as they tend to stay here for an average of 6 days while domestic tourists are closer to 2 days.

This doesn’t seem too bad.

Until you realise there are nearly 7,000 people in Edinburgh who are classed as homeless.

That number of people could sell out the Usher hall 3 times over.

There are also over 5,000 households in this city living in temporary accommodation, as well as over 31,000 applicants for permanent social housing.

That is around 55,000 people in the city of Edinburgh alone.

That is more than double the number of people performing at the Fringe- the biggest performing arts festival in the world.

We have not only in Edinburgh but around the world allowed for the commodification of basic human necessities.

Housing should not be a for profit business.

Especially in a country like Scotland where it can get so brutally cold in winter.

I am not suggesting that the fault lies at the feet of those who choose to participate in the Fringe.

I choose to participate in the Fringe.

But I can’t help but to question where does all this money go?

It does not feel like it is going to the people of the city.

The tourist tax in Edinburgh alone is estimated to bring in around £50 million pounds.

The Scottish Homeless Monitor has projected that homelessness in this city could rise by 1/3 in 2026.

The performing arts are under attack in many ways.

I deem it vital that more money is spent preserving the arts, promoting the arts and getting more individuals involved in the arts.

People tend to stray away from talking about the arts in fear of sounding wanky.

I can attest the Fringe is incredibly wanky.

But at the centre of all art is the desire to tell a human story.

Some people on this earth were put here to ensure the efficient running of the post office.

Some were put here to ensure that children will be taught in school.

Some to save lives.

Some to sit in offices and do admin.

Some are here to document the struggle that we are going through at this point in history, to help preserve the time because the best version of events we can leave our future great great grandchildren are direct from the source.

Not waiting many years where stories can be twisted and manipulated as we have seen done many, many times.

So I implore the artists at the Fringe to continue to do what they are doing. It is incredible work.

While the Fringe uplifts many, it leaves behind many others.

I am someone who was brought up not only to love the arts but to participate in them. Taught that the arts are what pushes a culture forward and that there is nothing more valuable than culture.

But actually there is- dignity.

Dignity for those living in the richest city in Scotland.

Rich in culture.

Rich in possibilities.

Rich in greed.

I hope as the Fringe continues after all of these years to get bigger, that the people of Edinburgh get to grow with it.

After all, it is our city we are handing over to sock puppets and stripper Shreks.

I do believe that every city deserves artists.

But every city also deserves artists who are willing to look away from the stage and to the fringes.