Edinburgh Festival Fringe comedians blame 'Oasis effect' for cancelling gigs
Oasis are due to play their first concert at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium on Friday night.
Fringe comedians struggling to fill venues have claimed the “Oasis effect” is hampering ticket sales, with some forced to cancel shows.
The Manchester brothers are to play in Edinburgh for the first gig of their three-night run on Friday night.
Comedian Kate Smurthwaite said she cancelled two of her three shows scheduled for Banshee Labyrinth on Thursday - and cited the Oasis concerts as a key reason for the decision.
Ms Smurthwaite, who earlier this year won the 2025 Fringe World award for Best Children’s Event in Australia for her family-friendly science show Evolution Revolution, said she believed people were struggling to attend the Fringe this week because of the spiralling costs of accommodation in Edinburgh.
She linked this to the timing of the Oasis gigs and said claims that fans of the Britpop rockers might also attend the festivals during their stay in Edinburgh were unfounded.
An investigation by The Scotsman earlier this year found some hotels had increased prices for the tour dates by hundreds of pounds a night. This had pushed the cost of a stay at one city centre hotel in Edinburgh as high as £2,702 on the first day of the concert run - almost £1,000 more than the price charged a week earlier.
Ms Smurthwaite told The Edinburgh Minute: “Big groups of people in Oasis shirts are not interested in my show or anybody else’s. I’m also aware of performers losing their accommodations because landlords have suddenly realised they can make more money by renting the space out to Oasis fans.
“It’s absolutely heart-breaking to be cancelling shows for the first time in ten years at the Edinburgh Fringe.
“I’m pulling shows because no one turned up. I think the Fringe Society should have seen this coming and done more about it and a band like Oasis should be more considerate of their fellow performers when they decide where and when to put their shows on.”
However, comedian Zara Gladman said despite having a sell-out run, spare tickets were available for her show every night due to no-shows, which she put down to a new wave of Covid.
She said: “Literally every night there have been spare seats because I think Covid is doing the rounds again. So if you didn’t get a ticket, you can just turn up and get a ticket on the door.”
The Edinburgh Fringe Society last year highlighted the rising cost of accommodation during the festivals as a major barrier to people attending the event, as well as for visiting artists.
The festivals are not only competing against the run of Oasis concerts this year, with Australian rock icons AC/DC also performing at Murrayfield Stadium on August 21.
Oasis are returning to Scotland for the first time in 16 years for their three sold-out shows, with the other two concerts running Saturday and Tuesday nights.
In a short message posted on X ahead of the concert, the band, led by Gallagher brothers Liam and Noel, said: “Edinburgh. Are you ready?”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.