Something for everyone – Edinburgh Festival Fringe

They are the ones that seem to stick and part of the reason I think this is that I can only remember two shows, one brilliant and one indescribably bad from the first year I came to Edinburgh back in 1986.

I am afraid my reasons for coming to Edinburgh that year were not entirely driven by artistic motives. I had just finished studying for a music degree at Surrey University and had managed to secure an invite to stay in Edinburgh with a very attractive girl I knew from school. Unfortunately she didn’t mention that she wouldn't actually be there which rather thwarted my plans but there was at least the benefit that I was then able to take in a great deal more of the festival.

Like so many people, I fell in love with Edinburgh and its festival on that visit. I had never before been to a place so completely immersed in performance, a city taken over by performers for three extraordinary weeks each year. It left a lasting impression and I managed to find my first two jobs at festivals in Aldeburgh and Bury St Edmunds.

I was later given the opportunity to work in Edinburgh as General Manager of the Queen’s Hall. It was a great opportunity to be involved in the festival as the venue hosts performances for the International, Jazz and Fringe Festivals. It was a wonderfully eclectic place to be during August. A typical day might start with one of the world's great string quartets at the International Festival's morning concert followed by a lunchtime talk, Lenny Henry performing with a soul band in the evening ending with some over the top late night comedy. Something for everyone as an old impresario might say.

I was fortunate enough to be made Director of the Fringe in 1999. Director is a strange title because you don’t really direct the Fringe, you just cling on to it and hope to be there at the end. Most of the time it feels a bit like herding cats. I have no involvement in selecting the acts, the whole point of the Fringe is that the performers themselves make the decision to come. This is how the festival started with 8 companies effectively gate-crashing the original Edinburgh International Festival and it is one of the reasons why there is so much diversity at the Fringe. If there was a single Artistic Director they would surely never feature a 'Bouncy Castle Hamlet' just before Ibsen’s Brand in their programme. They would be unlikely to choose a car, a bus, a lift, a department store or a public toilet as venues but I have seen shows in all these places. This year we even have a company presenting A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a tree. I never cease to be amazed at the creativity and ingenuity of Fringe performers.

This year will be my eighth Fringe as Director and hopefully the fourth where we have managed to exceed one million ticket sales. I really can't wait for it to start, I still get such a great buzz when the festival begins, that same sense of excitement I can remember from 1986 and makes Edinburgh the envy of the world as a truly great festival city.