Edinburgh Fringe Festival Unveil Details of New App for 2023

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is delighted to announce details of the new Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 app, which will be available ahead of the festival.

The app will include many navigational features which will support audiences in exploring the wealth of performance available at the Fringe.  Users will be able to view and search full programme listings, book tickets on the go and use a ‘nearby now' function to find shows starting soon, which are close to their location.

Based on feedback from audiences, artists, participants and venues following the 2022 Fringe, the new app will also include new features which weren't within the previous Fringe app, last available in 2019.

Following a move to a fully e-ticketing journey in 2022, e-ticket QR codes will be stored in the app's planner area and will be seamlessly integrated with users' day-by-day show schedules, providing a very easy user experience.  Users will also be able to add tickets for multiple shows in one simple transaction,

In addition, two great festival-time additions will see users able to have the option to enable notifications for when their next show is about to start and will also benefit from a new ‘Shake to Search' function which will provide users with a random show suggestion simply by shaking their phone.

The development of the 2023 app has been made possible through kind support from Scottish Enterprise, and new sponsors Playbill and Synatec.  Since the start of 2023, the Fringe Society have been working with Australian-based agency equ on developing a new app for this year's festival.  equ previously supported the Perth Fringe Festival with the development of their app.  Throughout the development phase, the Fringe Society team have also already started exploring potential additional features for Fringe 2024 and beyond.  Through festival-time, users will be invited to submit feedback on the new app, encouraging suggestions of any additional features they'd like to see that would help them get even more out of the Fringe as well as provide feedback on their app experience.

Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: ‘Developing an app required to support the scale and complexity of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe takes a significant period of time and resource, and we are delighted to be able to share the exciting features which will be launched within the app for this year's festival. We recognise the app is a key tool for Fringe artists, with many audiences using it to explore new ideas and performances they may not have yet experienced, and the "nearby now" functionality is particularly useful for performers who offer free shows within the programme.

We've ensured that the new app does all that and more, and while there's still a few more weeks before it's fully ready, I can't wait for Fringe audiences to download it and support the thousands of artists performing in Edinburgh this summer.'

The new Fringe app is designed for use on the ground in August, and will be available for download in late July, ahead of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023.