Brighton Fringe Ethos

Brighton Fringe is the third largest open-access multi-art form festival in the world, and what makes it exceptional is that it is set in a city with a unique heritage that has set the pace, diversity, creativity and innovative thinking in the city and beyond.

2011 was, according to many stakeholders, “the best Brighton Fringe yet”. The quality and range of events increased along with greater press coverage, media reviews and awards attracting audiences of 180,000 to ticketed and free events across Brighton and Hove. Visit Brighton estimate in the region of one million visitors are attracted into the city in May.

It sets out to stimulate, educate and entertain a wide audience by providing a showcase for diverse art forms. No artistic judgment or selection criteria are imposed on participants, enabling the development of both new and established work to attract fresh audiences, press and promoters.

A brief history

Brighton and Hove has held Fringe activity since the Brighton Festivals’ creation in 1967. Over the years this has grown significantly and been presented in a number of different ways: ‘Fringe’, ‘Umbrella’, ‘The Open’ and was finally renamed ‘Brighton Festival Fringe’ in 2002. It became a company in its own right in 2006 and appointed an independent board of directors. This made the difference between the two festivals very clear: Brighton Festival is a series of curated and programmed events, the Fringe, however, provides open access to everyone who wants and registers to take part.

What Brighton Fringe does

Brighton Fringe is an organisation that supports artists, producers and audiences. The Brighton Fringe office provides a platform and a range of marketing tools to promote participating events as well as a one-stop ticketing facility through an in-person, telephone and on-line box office.

Brighton Fringe is a completely open access festival, which means anyone can put on an event and be included in the brochure and website listings on payment of a fee. By definition, Brighton Fringe can include any art form.

Brighton Fringe 2011 in numbers

 The third largest fringe festival in the world!
 625 events
 Over 3000 performances
 180 venues
 135 free events
 40,000 visitors at Fringe City in New Road
 Over 100,000 tickets sold
 180,000 total attendances
 Website hits: 23,584,366
 37% of audiences saw 3 - 5 shows this May
 48% had friends and family down to Brighton to see Brighton Fringe events
 2,500 pieces of media coverage

Brighton Fringe revenue

Brighton Festival Fringe Ltd is a registered charity but does not rely on public funding, in fact, only 5% of its income will come from public sources in 2012. Its other sources of revenue include participants’ registration fees, selling advertisement in the brochure and on the website, sponsorships and Friends memberships. The organisation has also built a portfolio of mutually beneficial partnerships with a range of businesses, many of them local to Brighton and Hove.

Charity Number - 1116367

Company number - 5578256

VAT number - 892 5694 68

Company Documents

Memorandum of Association

Articles of Association

Annual Report