We reported yesterday that the Edinburgh Fringe Society has axed their popular mobile phone booking app.
Many Fringe performers reacted angrily. The decision also drew criticism from venues, critics, and Fringe goers.
Link: Fringe App Axed
Link: Opinion: Don’t just blame the Fringe Society for the absence of the apps this year
In response, Fringe Society CEO Shona McCarthy released a short statement in a series of Tweets. Here it is in full:
“We share everyone’s disappointment about the absence of the Fringe app in 2022.
It is worth remembering that Covid restrictions were still affecting the events industry until the end of February. Our first priority this year was to ensure the Fringe could return to Edinburgh, giving as many people as possible a stage or a seat.
The Fringe Society has been in recovery, along with the rest of the sector, still operating with a depleted team and trying to manage limited resources as best possible for the healthy return of the Fringe.
After two pandemic-affected years running on shoestring budgets, we simply did not have the budget required to build and maintain the app this year at the point when this work needed to be undertaken (Dec 2021).
The entire Fringe community is coming together after being battered and bruised by Covid-19. I’m confident that, with a year under our belts and some fresh income returning to the event, we will be in a much stronger position to invest in our digital offering.
I am sorry this is the situation, and can reassure the Fringe community that we have every intention of re-instating the app once our finances are more robust.”
Questions remain about how and when the decision was made and the way in which the decision was communicated.
