Welcome to the Fringe: Palestine 2025

Aim: WE STILL NEED YOUR SUPPORT! NEW STRETCH TARGET to help us bring Palestinian artists to the Edinburgh Fringe!

WE STILL NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

The Story So Far…

In January 2025, we set out to raise £30,000 through Crowdfunder towards our ‘Welcome To The Fringe Palestine’ project. This target was set to help us bring artists from Palestine to Edinburgh, to perform and participate in the biggest arts festival in the world.

The generosity shown by so many people to date has - as of the end of April 2025 - raised £37,000 through Crowdfunder. This is extraordinary and we are so grateful for the solidarity that has accompanied these donations. Combined with partner funding we have now secured over £40,000, as well as the voluntary input of many people who have offered up time, materials, expertise and accommodation. 

Update and New Stretch Target

We have a new and very ambitious stretch target of £15,000. This would take our crowdfunded resources to a total of £52,000. We know it’s a lot, but here is an update to offer an insight into the process and the costs. And to encourage those of you who have donated already to share this ask widely with friends, family, comrades and colleagues…

At the end of February, the deadline for our Open Call for artists closed with over 100 applications having been received. Given what is happening for Palestinians right now, this in and of itself is an astonishing achievement. 

We have been so impressed by the range of artistic talent and creative integrity we have witnessed in recent months. Over a series of weeks we have now shortlisted 12 pieces of work and have subsequently sent the associated artists an invitation to join us in Edinburgh. In addition we have approached a number of Palestinian artists based in Scotland and the UK to join us for some, or all, of the festival. 

Our week-long festival will now showcase the collective work of 22 practitioners, which we are extremely excited about. 

The programme is coming together, and we are now in the process of booking flights, signing up to the Fringe, and working with people on their visa requirements. This is very challenging - especially in light of the current inhumane blockade of Gaza, which is systematically killing our Palestinians peers and their loved ones. 

We have also faced some challenges with a venue for the week, but now have an amazing space that will host us for the whole week and is going to allow us to create a hospitable and joyful environment during August. 

The full budget for the project is looking to be £73,000. We are trying to make savings wherever we can, and a lot of people’s donated labour is making this all happen - but we can only make so many savings. We need to be able to pay people for their time, create a safe and supportive environment, and market the work so that we get the audiences the artists deserve.

This showcase is being organised voluntarily and we are fundraising from scratch. If cannot support financially, but you are interested in helping with the ‘Welcome To The Fringe Palestine’ project. There are lots of ways other than donating to the crowdfunder - here are some suggestions:  

• by offering organising and technical skills, networking opportunities, mentoring, or gifts in-kind;
• by offering (or advocating others to offer) free accommodation to the Palestinian Artists during their stay in Edinburgh; 
• by supporting us get this fund off the ground and working on it expanding who it reaches; 
• by offering PR, Publicity and Marketing expertise to reach a wide audience during the Fringe;
• anything else you can think of that might be helpful!

If you would be willing to help with any of these suggestions, please get in touch.

OUR ORIGINAL STORY AND ASK FROM JAN 2025

In January we set out to to raise £30,000 towards a ‘Welcome To The Fringe: Palestine’ project, bringing artists from Palestine to Edinburgh to perform and participate in the biggest arts festival in the world. We also want to form a network of artists and friends who can give those artists help in-kind, mentoring, venue space and guidance.

Ten years ago, Welcome To The Fringe: Palestine brought 10 artists from Palestine to the Fringe. We gave audiences the opportunity to engage with contemporary Palestinian performance, and gave Palestinian Artists the opportunity to perform, to see work and to network. It was a celebration of Palestinian culture and an affirming experience of the power of culture that still touches us today.

In 2025 we want to do it again! It is more important than ever that we host and share in the work of our Palestinian colleagues.

What is Welcome to the Fringe Palestine?
'Welcome to the Fringe: Palestine' is an initiative to bring Palestinian Artists to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe. We want to platform their voices and celebrate Palestinian art and culture, with freedom and without censorship. While here, the project will support them to engage with the festival, meet audiences, see shows, make contacts, make friends, and enjoy the city.

We embrace the lessons in hospitality, culture and liberation that we have learnt from Palestinians, and we hope to bring that spirit to the Festival. Over one week in August 2025, Welcome To The Fringe Palestine will take place in an atmosphere of conviviality. We aim to present a raneg of artists and their work - ranging from poetry, theatre, dance, live art and song. We want to welcome audiences to share in their work. There will be art as well as laughter, music, food, drink, stories, jokes and conversation.

£30,000 sounds like a lot of money - but its realistically what we need in order to cover the following costs: 

• Flights, Accommodation & a fee with expenses for the artists; 
• Cover the time and cost of applying for Visas;
• Fringe registration;
• Technical Equipment and Venue Costs;
• Volunteer Expenses and Technical Crew costs;
• Documentation and Marketing of Welcome to the Fringe.

So, if you would like to hear Palestinian voices at Edinburgh Fringe, please consider donating to this Crowdfunder project. Please spread the word to others who might be able to add financial support to this project. 

Who we are, and how else YOU can help...
We are an independent group of Scottish based writers, dancers, theatre-makers, publishers and producers who have worked regularly in Palestine and the wider Middle East over many decades.

We have gained enormously from this cultural exchange and we think Scotland and Scottish audiences have benefited from it too. Now is the time to reciprocate, however we can.

Why Now?
We want to do something, however small it seems, to combat the ongoing dehumanisation and violence against the Palestinian people, and the ongoing censorship, restrictions and barriers placed in the way of Palestinian art.

Above all, Welcome To The Fringe: Palestine, aims to listen and learn from Palestinians. 

The Edinburgh Fringe is one of our favourite places in the world. It is a place of welcome and refuge. We want it to be a place where everyone can speak in the open and tell their stories. We want it to be a place where the unheard are finally heard. We hope you feel able to support us in this.