Do you think the Edinburgh International Festival does not quite meet your needs? Why not visit the Edinburgh Fringe Festival instead ?

It takes place from 5 August 2016 to 29 August 2016 and is the alternative to the official festival. As well as at the festival's celebratory attitude to innovation and life-affirming sprit, there are more than thousand reasons to become addicted to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

It provides totally open-access, you can see theatre, comedy, dance, circus, cabaret, children's shows, physical theatre, musicals, opera, music, spoken word, exhibitions and events and it is a magnet for creative producers. Performers take to hundreds of stages all over the city to present shows for every taste. From big names in the world of entertainment to unknown artists looking to build their careers. It is free, but you will be asked for donations to help the performers purchase food etc.

The Fringe story dates back to 1947, when eight theatre groups turned up uninvited to perform at the (then newly formed) Edinburgh International Festival, an initiative created to celebrate and enrich European cultural life in the wake of the Second World War. Not being part of the official programme of the International Festival didn't stop these performers – they just went ahead and staged their shows on the 'Fringe of the Festival' anyway – using the name '(Edinburgh) Festival Fringe'.  Year on year more and more performers followed their example and in 1958 the Festival Fringe Society was created in response to the success of this growing trend.

When taking part at the world's largest arts festival, the Fringe programme will become your bible! Get ready to spend hours poring over the pull out map of Edinburgh and its venues at the back of the guide book. Free copies can be found in all good UK theatres/outlets in the months running up to the Fringe, you can get them delivered in advance (P&P prices apply), or you can download a copy.

What are you waiting for? Look at the programme and book your stay in Edinburgh.