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Edinburgh Festival Fringe
31/05/2012
The Scottish Government has awarded £440,000 to fund a diverse range of world-class Scottish theatre and dance at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said today.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s 2012 Festival Fringe programme launch, Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, said the Scottish Government’s Expo Fund will support 12 export-ready productions to premiere in August. She said:
“The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the biggest international arts festival, attracting visitors and artists to Scotland from all over the world to experience the exceptional cultural and creative talent it has to offer.
“As last year’s economic impact study showed, the Edinburgh festivals make a significant contribution to Scotland’s economy, generating £250m in additional tourism revenue and more than four million attendances at events.
“The festivals do an excellent job of promoting Scotland’s rich culture, heritage and distinct identity on the world stage. So it makes strong economic sense to ensure Scotland’s own exceptionally creative talent is placed at the centre of this activity, and our artists are given opportunities to benefit from the global exposure Edinburgh’s festivals bring.
“Through our Expo Fund, the Scottish Government is proud to provide £440,000 to support a range of Scottish-based talent to showcase their excellent work through the Made in Scotland programme, at this year’s Festival Fringe.”
Related information:
Made in Scotland is a partnership between the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, the Federation of Scottish Theatre and Creative Scotland. It is supported by the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo fund and £440,000 was awarded to fund Made in Scotland 2012.
The Scottish Government’s Expo Fund has invested £8m in new Scottish-based work at Edinburgh’s 12 festivals since 2008-09.