EdFest opens new ticket office powered by a giant real-time offers screen
The physical box office is located on Edinburgh’s Mound by Assembly Hall
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EdFest, a collaborative effort from some of the leading venues at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, has announced a novel concept in the internet age: a physical box office on The Mound, allowing customers to purchase tickets in-person.
Above the cabin, a 4x2m screen displays a constantly updating feed of ticket offers from across EdFest's seven venues, pulled live from EdFest’s offers section, where participating companies can claim their show and run their own marketing offers. The box office also serves normal sales for the Assembly Hall.
The return to physical ticket sales comes after a successful few years for EdFest, which unties the shows of Assembly, C ARTS, Gilded Balloon, Just the Tonic, Pleasance, Underbelly and ZOO under one banner.
William Burdett-Coutts, founder and director of Assembly, said today: ‘This is a great step forward for the Fringe. Our drive is to try and reduce costs for performers and find ways of making the festival more efficient. With Edfest we have already reduced box office commission for companies to zero provided they put 4% of their tickets into Love the Fringe. A win win for the audience and shows alike. Which is why a physical, live-updating box office on the Mound matters during peak Fringe footfall, and how it gives companies a direct way to reach passing audiences. Audiences can also save up to £1.50 on booking fees probably making this the cheapest box office service in the city.’
The launch comes as ticket sales across edfest.com and Love the Fringe run 50% ahead of the same point last year. For the seven EdFest venues, which together account for around 70% of all Fringe ticket sales, shows can be added to a single basket and bought in one transaction directly on edfest.com, at 0% box office commission, with booking fees capped at £5 per transaction.
Beyond the Fringe, edfest.com is bringing together listings for Edinburgh's other festivals year-round, including the Edinburgh International Festival, the International Book Festival, the Film Festival and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, with booking handled directly through each festival's own site.
The Mound box office sits alongside Love The Fringe, EdFest's audience membership programme, now in its third year and grown from 500+ members in 2024 to 1,000+ in 2025.
Membership, from £30, gives access to free tickets, venue and bar discounts and curated daily review digests across the festival.
Visit EdFest’s site for more details; picture: Jacitna Oaten.