One of Scotland’s most anticipated arts festivals has launched, with more than 3,500 shows planned across the month.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe officially launched on Friday and will run until August 26, with artists from 58 countries set to perform.

There are 3,663 shows confirmed – up 346 from the 3,317 shows shown on the festival’s printed programme.

A total of 686 events have a “pay what you can” model and there are 456 free shows.

Shona McCarthy, chief executive of Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “After months of planning by a cast of thousands, I am absolutely thrilled to welcome everyone to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024.

“I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to get to this point, including artists, venues, producers, promoters, staff and too many more to mention. Now it’s time to enjoy this amazing festival you’ve created.”

“The Fringe Society exists to support the artists, media and arts industry taking part in the Fringe. Our team will be at Fringe Central throughout August with on-the-ground support, advice and a fantastic programme of events for all participants.

“Now it’s over to the Fringe audience, please get ready to Unleash Your Fringe and experience work from established names or first-time and emerging performers. The best way to support artists over the coming weeks is to go and see shows.”

The Edinburgh International Film Festival also launched on Friday, also running until August 25. It features more than 160 performers.

A group of acrobats perform in front of some steps
Acrobats from Gravity & Other Myths perform in front of the Assembly Hall in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA)

With thousands of people expected to descend on Scotland’s capital in August, train operator ScotRail has urged passengers travelling to Edinburgh to be aware of the temporary timetable.

Speaking on BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, the firm’s communication director David Ross said: “We are operating on a temporary timetable at the moment, so there are fewer services than there normally would be for the festivals.

“So our advice to passengers is to check before you travel. Take a look at the ScotRail website or the app and, if you can, don’t leave it until the very last train, because we do expect services to be very busy.”

He explained the temporary timetable was because of a reliance on “rest-day working and overtime” by train drivers, and that the company was looking to recruit more drivers to reduce this.

He said: “The work that we’re doing just now to hire another 800 drivers over the course of the next five years will help us to significantly reduce reliance on rest-day working and run as reliable a service as we possibly can.”