The 72nd Edinburgh Fringe Festival begins today [Friday 2 August], and for the 11th year running The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) campus is transformed into one of the city’s busiest events venues.
This year, 146 different musical, dramatic and comedic acts will perform at the venue over the next three weeks. Some 70,000 visitors are expected to descend upon theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall to enjoy the world’s largest arts festival.
The Festival is a great opportunity for the College’s commercial arm, Surgeons Quarter, who manage the performance venues and several food and drinks outlets around the campus. The canopied Courtyard Bar and the outdoor Prosecco Garden in Hill Square are especially popular, serving a range of refreshments and hot food. Occupancy rates at Ten Hill Place Hotel, also managed by Surgeons Quarter, are at their highest during the month of August when thousands of tourists from around the world descend upon the city.
Surgeons Quarter’s profits from the Fringe go back into RCSEd, helping to fund the College’s charitable aims of education, assessment and advancement in surgery. Privilege cards are valid at all bars and catering outlets at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, so members and fellows are encouraged to spend a relaxing evening at the Festival while supporting the College.
A full line-up of performances at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall can be found here.