Edinburgh Festival Fringe Head is Hoping to See the Fringe Return to the Streets in 2021

Edinburgh Festival Fringe chief executive Shona McCarthy is hoping to see live performances return to the streets of Edinburgh by next summer, The Scotsman reports. However, she also believes that an online, or otherwise scaled-down production could be beneficial in other ways.

The Fringe is believed to have been worth more than £170 million for the city's economy in recent years.

"I want to see the Fringe as live as possible next year," McCarthy said. "I want to be able to walk down the Royal Mile and see street performers. I want to walk around corners and see the unexpected and the madness that you encounter on the streets of Edinburgh every August."

However, she believes that the success of the online event take took place this year is something they can learn from in order to continue to develop the Festival.

"We will keep developing digital opportunities at the same time as that is the key to internationalism and reach for the Fringe like we've never and before," she said.

McCarthy also said that something the Fringe needs to work on is retaining their audiences in Edinburgh.

"Maybe one of the positive legacies to come out of all this is that it (the Fringe) can't possibly be at the same scale and accommodation providers will maybe be crying out for people to stay so that their rates become more affordable."

Read more on The Scotsman.

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