The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is reknowned the world over for creativity, experimentation and energy, with more than a third of all shows being world premieres.

Officially planet Earth's largest arts festival, the Fringe is one of those must-do events for both up-and-coming and established artists.

It seems everyone who's anyone (as well as a few who remain resolutely no-one) has played the Fringe.

The names read like a who's who of performance art:

...number just a tiny percentage of the vast number of A list names to have appeared at The Fringe. However, part of the depth of appeal of the Fringe is that there are so many first class acts to be found in the near 300 venues across the city.

Great as it is to see an iconic figure first hand, with over 1,800 shows to choose from throughout August each year, you'll be spoiled for choice when it comes to finding exactly the kind of entertainment you're after.

With Theatre and Comedy making up 59% of the offering, it is often these two for which the Fringe is best known. Highly prestigious awards like the Perrier Award for Comedy are offered here and can make careers virtually overnight.

Theatre and Comedy aside, the spread of offering is truly eclectic with the line up additionally including:

• Music
• Musicals
• Children's Shows
• Dance & Physical Theatre
• Exhibitions
• Special Events

There were an amazing 1,830 odd different Fringe shows on offer in 2005, with 167 of them being completely free of charge. Always at the forefront of current trends, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has fully embraced web technology with 45% of the near 1.3 million tickets sold in 2004 being done so online via their online ticketing system.

Such is the size and popularity of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that if you are planning a trip either to take part or as an audience member, you're well advised to book your accommodation early - Fringe performers alone are estimated to number more than 16,000 people.

That's before counting audience, general summer Edinburgh tourists and attendees of the Edinburgh International Fesitval, Book Festival or indeed any of the other summer events being staged!

Naturally, where better to find and book that accommodation than here on AboutBritain.com? There's lots to be found and our unbeatable Price Promise is, well ... unbeatable.

For more information on the Fringe, please call the Edinburgh Festival Fringe office on +44 (0)131 226 0026.

You can find out more at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Website, or you can continue reading about other Edinburgh festivals here: