ORGANISERS of Brighton Fringe have said this year’s festival was the most successful yet, with the month–long programme bringing in an estimated £15.8 million to the local economy.

The festival attracted record–breaking audience numbers, with more than 555,000 people attending shows across Brighton.

Audience attendance was up four per cent from 2016, with events bringing in more than £2.1 million in revenue.

The figures are the highest since the Fringe registered as a charity in 2006.

Managing director Julian Caddy said: “I’m delighted to see the continued appeal of Brighton Fringe to the general public and artists alike.

“It is a humbling experience to see the sheer scale of work that goes into it from all those involved, at every level and I can’t thank you enough.”

Mr Caddy said he was proud of the Fringe’s success amid cuts to the arts.

He said: “It is a very precarious landscape in the arts and the triumph of an event such as Brighton Fringe does well to provide a vital, open platform for everyone. But when you look below the surface it depends on so many variables, enormous goodwill and very little funding, so it’s important not to be complacent.

“The support from the local community is vital to this and that is a crucial reason why we remain not only the largest event in the city of Brighton and Hove but also the largest arts festival in England. So planning for the 2018 festival is well under way.”

This year’s Fringe consisted of more than 1,000 events, the highest yet for the Fringe, with an international offering of 110 acts from 28 countries.

This included 14 UK premieres from the Netherlands, which made up the Fringe’s Dutch Season.

Venues in the festival included The Warren in the grounds of St Peter’s Church, the Lady Boys of Bangkok tent in Victoria Gardens and the Brighton Spiegeltent, which returned to the Old Steine.

Brighton Fringe derives less than three per cent of its income from public sources. Other sources of revenue include participants’ registration fees and selling advertising.