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‘We're staying six to a caravan an hour away’: Edinburgh Festival artists tell LBC they’re being priced out of the city
1 August 2024, 08:24
Artists are having to stay miles out of Edinburgh in caravans and miss out on performing at the city’s Festival Fringe entirely because of accommodation issues, LBC’s been told.
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Thousands from across the world are arriving in Scotland for the world's biggest arts festival taking place this month, with more than 2,000 shows scheduled.
But many have found it difficult to find somewhere to stay for its duration because of well-documented accommodation issues during August.
Hotel and Airbnb prices surge due to the limited supply compared to the massive demand – on top of the housing crisis already facing locals.
And some artists are claiming the situation with prices and availability this year is the worst it’s ever been.
James – who’s performing in a sketch show - told LBC: “We are having to stay an hour bus away in a caravan with six of us in it. There’s a lot of beds in there which are quite small, it is quite tight particularly with all our costumes.
“When we first came here in 2018 we were literally outside the castle for the same price we are paying this year in the caravan site.
“I guess our experience of the Fringe over the years has kind of tracked the accommodation problem. We’ve slowly been further out of town every year. So it’s a shame but we’re making the best of it.
“Myself from five years ago wouldn’t be able to afford to come here. I wouldn’t have been able to say ‘I’ll work part time to raise some funds’, that wouldn’t even cover it now. I think it’s a shame because the Fringe was such a good opportunity for low income performers to have access to a mainstream audience. I just hope that this accommodation thing is sorted so that people aren’t missing out on that opportunity.”
George – who’s involved in a drag bingo event – eventually found a more affordable option but told LBC: “I was looking at some ads for two-beds that were thousands and thousands of pounds. It was really intense. More than £5000 for the month.
“I’ve seen so many desperate comments from performers on Facebook saying ‘please, I’ve got nowhere to stay, I’ll do all the housework, please help me’. In the creative arts we’re all so desperate to do what we love but it seems nobody wants to facilitate it even though the UK has one of the most amazing histories with the arts.”
TV presenter Gail Porter performed at the Festival for the first time last year with her one-woman show ‘Hung, Drawn and Portered’.
But she’s told LBC she’s been priced out of putting on a run of performances this year.
“It’s just so expensive. I could not afford to stay in a hotel. For the cost of two nights in a hotel I could be going two weeks on holiday abroad. I looked at a chain hotel and it was almost three times more than the price I paid for it in the middle of July.
“I don’t know if people think I have loads of money but I don’t, I do a lot of charity work, a lot of stuff for free. I’m not going to pay more than £300 a night for a hotel.
“People are staying away. I know a lot of comedians and friends who were going to go up with me but they’re saying we can’t afford to, the most we can do is maybe one day. There’s quite a few very famous people I’ve bumped into recently who’ve said we aren’t going up to Edinburgh this year. They were like ‘we just can’t do it’, it’s crazy.
“I really worry about the new people and the youngsters coming up who won’t be able to do it.”
LBC has contacted festival organisers and Edinburgh Council for comment.
