Members of the Chinese Theatre Circle in traditional costume performed the Lion Dance outside the Assembly Rooms in George Street to promote their Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, August 1988.Members of the Chinese Theatre Circle in traditional costume performed the Lion Dance outside the Assembly Rooms in George Street to promote their Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, August 1988.
Members of the Chinese Theatre Circle in traditional costume performed the Lion Dance outside the Assembly Rooms in George Street to promote their Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, August 1988.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe: 26 photos looking back at the Fringe in the 1980s

Kevin Quinn
By Kevin Quinn
Published 23rd Jul 2023, 11:38 BST
Updated 23rd Jul 2023, 11:47 BST
So many memories from August in Edinburgh in the 1980s

With this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe fast approaching, we’ve taken a look back in our archives for photos of the annual event during the 1980s.

That decade saw many TV and comedy stars who went onto become household names appear in Edinburgh, selling their shows on the streets of the city like everyone else, including comedians Rowan Atkinson, Alexi Sayle and Jo Brand, musician Jools Holland and Scottish US TV show host Craig Ferguson.

Performers ('pneumatic art') promoting their show in Holyrood Park on Fringe Sunday, during the Edinburgh Festival in 1983.

5. Fringe Sunday

Performers ('pneumatic art') promoting their show in Holyrood Park on Fringe Sunday, during the Edinburgh Festival in 1983. Photo: Alan Macdonald

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The High Street becomes pedestrian-only as Edinburgh Festival Fringe acts and street performers entertain the crowds in August 1981.

6. Street performers

The High Street becomes pedestrian-only as Edinburgh Festival Fringe acts and street performers entertain the crowds in August 1981. Photo: Bill Stout

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Controversial French circus Archaos drive a motorbike over a car on Waverley Bridge as a publicity stunt for their Edinburgh Festival Fringe show in August 1989.

7. Daring stunt

Controversial French circus Archaos drive a motorbike over a car on Waverley Bridge as a publicity stunt for their Edinburgh Festival Fringe show in August 1989. Photo: Joe Steele

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Performer Rowan Atkinson (right), who went onto find fame as Blackadder and Mr Bean, pictured with Fringe director Alistair Moffat at a Fringe press conference during the Edinburgh Festival in 1980.

8. Mr Bean

Performer Rowan Atkinson (right), who went onto find fame as Blackadder and Mr Bean, pictured with Fringe director Alistair Moffat at a Fringe press conference during the Edinburgh Festival in 1980. Photo: Bill Newton

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