Nightnews-media :: Jan 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Official Press Release
Scotland

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Headline :: Fringe Director Paul Gudgin departs after most successful
Fringe ever :: RELEASED Monday, January 22, 2007 :: Fringe Director
Paul Gudgin departs after most successful Fringe ever

The Fringe today announced that Paul Gudgin, its Director since 1999
is stepping down. Gudgin is leaving to produce a variety of festival
and event-related projects both in the UK and internationally.

Baroness Elizabeth Smith, Chair of the Fringe Board of Directors said,
"I'm personally very sad that Paul is leaving the Fringe but after 8
years I recognise that he needs to explore other opportunities. Paul
has contributed an extraordinary amount to the Fringe during his time
in office. The growth in ticket sales, performing companies and new
venues has been headline news for many years. It'll be a huge loss
for me personally but I'm sure Paul will make a fantastic contribution
to any organisation he works for. I wish him all the luck in the world."

Fringe Director Paul Gudgin said, "It's been a great privilege to run
the world's largest arts festival for the past 8 years and I'm pleased
that as an organisation we've passed some impressive milestones and
seen such exponential growth. But it's time for me to move on." He
continued, "While I'm leaving at a time of strength for the Fringe,
there are still many challenges that my successor will face but
fortunately they'll also be inheriting a wonderful job and the
opportunity to work with a fantastic group of people from the Fringe
staff and board to the venue managers, performers and other festivals."

Paul Gudgin will remain with the Fringe until the launch of the 2007
programme on Thursday June 7. It is anticipated that the post of
Director of the Fringe will be advertised in the next few weeks with
interviews taking place in the Spring.

- Ends -

Paul Gudgin will be available for interviews.
For more information, photographs and to arrange interviews contact
Leroy or Louise at the Fringe Press Office on 0131 226 0024 or
press@...

Notes to Editors on following pages.

Fringe facts
 The Fringe has a 75% market share of all attendance at Edinburgh's
year-round festivals and annually generates around £75 million for the
Edinburgh and Scottish economy.
 Fringe 2006 featured 28,014 performances of 1,867 shows in 261 venues
 An estimated 16,990 performers were on Edinburgh's Fringe stages.
 The Fringe sells 97% more tickets than it did only 10 years ago
(679,147 in 1995, 1338,550 in 2005).

Box office statistics from Paul's Directorship
Year Ticket sales Value Shows
1999 860,357 £6,218,348 1,382
2000 735,196 £5,548,017 1,354
2001 873,887 £6,633,766 1,462
2002 975,110 £7,888,111 1,550
2003 1,184,738 £9,948,701 1,541
2004 1,251,997 £10,794,176 1,695
2005 1,338,550 £11,764,624 1,832
2006 1,531,606 £13,735,041 1,927
Totals 8,751,441 £72,530,784 12,743

Paul Gudgin Biography
Paul studied for a degree in music at the University of Surrey. After
leaving university in 1986 Paul took up his first post in the arts as
Concerts Manager for the Aldeburgh Foundation. They promote the
Aldeburgh Festival, established by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears
and also manage Snape Maltings Concert Hall. Paul was then appointed
Manager of the Bury St Edmunds Festival in 1989 at the age of 25. Over
the five years he spent there, Paul extended the event from a small
cluster of productions over two weekends into a busy sixteen-day
showcase described by The Times as "one of the best small Festivals in
Britain".

From Bury St Edmunds, Paul moved to Edinburgh in 1995 when he became
General Manager of the Queen's Hall. This busy concert hall is home to
the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and hosts over 300 events a year. His
strong association with festivals continued as the Queen's Hall itself
hosts events by the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh
International Jazz Festival and of course the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Paul was appointed Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in April
1999. Milestones from Paul Gudgin's 8 years with the Fringe

1999
· Paul Gudgin becomes the new Director of the Edinburgh Festival
Fringe in April following on from Hilary Strong. Tensions are still
running high following the decision of the Fringe to move its start
date a week earlier than the Edinburgh International Festival.
· The Fringe takes over the management of the High Street during August
· Assembly Theatre almost lose their venue after a long running feud
with the City Council
· Al Murray wins the Perrier Award
· Shows receiving high praise from the critics include Nixon's Nixon,
Hopeless Games, Wreck the Airline Barrier, Danny's Wake and The House
of Pootsie Plunket
· Pastor Jack Glass and his supporters picket the `Gay Jesus' play
Corpus Christi

2000
· A new venue, The Underbelly, is launched in vaults under George IV
Bridge
· The Fringe loses two key venues as Café Graffiti and The Palladium
close
· The Fringe becomes the first arts organisation in the UK to adopt
real-time online ticketing which proves an instant hit
· Shows receiving critical acclaim include Picasso's Women, Further
than the Furthest Thing, King of Scotland, Decky Does a Bronco, Steven
Berkoff's Messiah, Are You Dave Gorman? and The Donkey Show

2001
· Gregory Burke's debut play Gagarin Way proves a huge hit with
critics and audiences
· Fringe launches 2-for-1 tickets increasing sales by 226% on the
opening weekend of the festival.
· Rob Newman leads a call to boycott the Perrier Awards to highlight
Nestlé's controversial powdered milk sales in the developing world
· Fringe Sunday moves from Holyrood Park to The Meadows
· Notable shows included Bedbound, Mental, Man in the Flying Lawn
Chair, Jesus Hopped the A Train and 3 Dark Tales

2002
· The Fringe sells 975,000 tickets outstripping this years'
Commonwealth Games in Manchester
· The Fringe features a large number of shows influenced by the
September 11 terrorist attack on New York including the world première
of a Steven Berkoff poem and The Guys performed by Tim Robbins and
Susan Sarandon
· Award-winners include Horse Country, Derevo: la Divina Commedia,
Outlying Islands, Bomb-itty of Errors and Victory at the Dirt Palace
· Jerry Springer the Opera causes a stir, particularly when Jerry
Springer turns up to watch

2003
· The Fringe sells one million tickets for the first time.
· The Fringe includes 204 venues, the largest ever number despite
losing 3 venues including the Gilded Balloon in the Old Town Fire
· Site-specific venues are all the rage with a public toilet, a Ford
Escort, a stepladder, a bus, a New Town flat and a lift all being used
· The Scottish Socialist Party backed Edinburgh People's Festival
challenging the established festivals for being `elitist'
· Fringe comedian Aaron Barschak makes national headlines after
breaking into Prince William's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle

2004
· Christian Slater wows the critics in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
which transfers straight to London's West End.
· The sexually explicit show XXX and Tim Fountain's show Sex Addict
cause widespread controversy
· Comedian Mark Watson completes an astounding 24-hour show
· Will Adamsdale is a surprise winner of the Perrier Award at his
first appearance on the Fringe
· The City of Edinburgh Council and The Scottish Executive commission
the `Thundering Hooves' study as Edinburgh faces growing competition
from other cities
· The Fringe open a new Press and Performers' Centre in Old Fishmarket
Close

2005
· Many shows deal with issues surrounding the War on Terror including
Terrorist the Musical, Manifest Destiny (an al-Qaeda love story) and
War, Terror and other Fun Stuff
· The Fringe boasts a greatly expanded theatre programme including
Bill Bailey and Alan Davies in The Odd Couple
· Young survivors of the Boxing Day tsunami charm audiences with their
show Children of the Sea
· Fringe stalwart Christopher Richardson steps down after 21 years as
Director of the Pleasance
· Laura Solon becomes the first female winner of the Perrier Award for
10 years
· The Fringe open a Half-Price Hut and e-ticket tent which between
them sell an additional 45,000 tickets.
· A City Council-funded economic impact study estimates that the
Fringe generates £75 million annually for the local economy and
generated media coverage in the UK equivalent to £6.6 million in
advertising value

2006
· The Fringe sells over 1.5 million tickets for the first time, almost
double the number sold 10 years ago.
· The National Theatre of Scotland present their first production,
Gregory's Burke's Blackwatch, on the Fringe to full houses and rave
reviews
· Over half of the tickets sold by the Fringe box office were sold
online and www.edfringe.com <http://www.edfringe.com> received 73
million hits in August alone.
· After 25 years Perrier are replaced as sponsor of the comedy awards
by Intelligent Finance, creating the if.comeddies
· The much anticipated report into Edinburgh's future competitiveness
as a Festival City `Thundering Hooves' is published
· Retiring International Festival Director Brian McMaster wins the
Jack Tinker Spirit of the Fringe Award
· All Edinburgh's main festivals join forces to create `Festivals
Edinburgh'. Faith Liddell is appointed as its first Director

For more information, photographs and to arrange interviews contact
Leroy or Louise at the Fringe Press Office on 0131 226 0024 or
press@...

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