Brighton Fringe boosted by Name Your Price success

Brighton Fringe, the largest arts festival in England, attracted almost 500,000 attendees during its 2023 event.

Over four weeks and five weekends, over 160,000 tickets were sold to circus, comedy, theatre and cabaret events. Including free and non-ticketed events, overall attendances were nearly 500,000 people, both in person and online.

Brighton Fringe held 880 events, with 875 in person and five digital pre-recorded, which materialised into over 3,500 performances for audiences in Brighton & Hove and those at home. Events took place at 126 venues across the city and the wider Sussex area.

Brighton Fringe’s average ticket price remained “relatively affordable” at £9.38 per ticket, which was a 5p decrease on 2022. The festival also saw an expanding programme of free events, as well as more and more events opting for Name Your Price ticketing, which organisers said comes in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis and rising energy bills.

Brighton Fringe chief executive Julian Caddy said: “Brighton Fringe is an open-access celebration of the arts in all its forms. It may be the biggest arts festival in England, but it remains largely unfunded and is utterly dependent on ticket sales to be successful. So it has been overwhelming to see the incredible enthusiasm from such a diverse range of audiences. After all we’ve been through over the past few years, we really needed this. I’m so grateful to everyone who made it happen.”