Fringe boss stepping down for Melbourne move

Published 9th Nov 2015

The boss of the Edinburgh Fringe is stepping down after seven years in the job to move to Australia and head up the Melbourne festival.

Kath M Mainland described her time in Edinburgh as 'truly incredible'.

She said: "The time has come to move on to pastures new and I am delighted to be taking on the role of Executive Director at the Melbourne Festival.

“I love the Fringe and I have lived in Edinburgh for over twenty years because of it.

"I’m immensely proud of the Fringe Society staff and their achievements – I have had the opportunity to work with an amazingly hardworking, imaginative and talented group of people.

“I’d especially like to take this opportunity to thank all the creative souls who take part in the Fringe and make it what it is – the world’s largest, most renowned open-access arts festival.

During her time in charge, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has seen significant growth with 1,216 more shows in the 2015 programme than in 2009 and 48 more venues involved.

This year, the Fringe Society also announced record breaking figures following the 2015 Fringe with an estimated 2,298,090 tickets issued for shows across Scotland’s capital.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society will begin the recruitment process for a new Chief Executive imminently.