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Edinburgh Fringe 2026 billboard announcement in city centre with blue sky and historic buildings

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Fringe 2026 First Shows Announced + What’s On in Edinburgh This February

Edinburgh’s cultural calendar has just shifted up a gear.

The first 351 shows for Fringe 2026 have officially been revealed, giving the city an early taste of August while February events continue across town.

🎭 First Fringe 2026 Shows Revealed

The initial announcement from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society confirms 351 shows from 24 countries across more than 70 venues. Early listings are now live at edfringe.com.

Genres already confirmed include:

  • Comedy
  • Theatre & physical theatre
  • Circus
  • Dance
  • Music & cabaret
  • Musicals and opera

Major venue operators such as Gilded Balloon and Underbelly have begun teasing their early line-ups, with more announcements due on 1 April and 6 May ahead of the full programme launch in June.

It’s a reminder that Edinburgh’s festival build-up starts long before August.

📅 What’s On in Edinburgh This February

Here’s a quick snapshot of events happening across the city:

DAteEventVenue
Tuesdays (Feb)Winter Nights stargazing sessionsRoyal Observatory Edinburgh
Mid–Late FebruaryTouring theatre & ballet productionsFestival Theatre
Late FebruaryRSNO: Beethoven’s Violin ConcertoUsher Hall
OngoingNational Museum of ScotlandNational Museum of Scotland

🎬 Recently Wrapped: Manipulate Festival

The Manipulate Festival has just concluded its latest run, bringing visual theatre, puppetry and animation to venues across Edinburgh.

It continues to strengthen the city’s winter arts calendar and keeps creative energy high ahead of spring.

🌸 Looking Ahead

The Edinburgh Snowdrop Festival returns soon across several city gardens, marking the first real signs of spring.

After that, attention turns to Edinburgh Tradfest and further Fringe announcements as the city builds towards summer.

February might be quieter than August, but Edinburgh’s cultural scene is already gathering pace for 2026.

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Edinburgh Fringe Funniest Jokes

ComedyEdFringe

Top 15 Jokes of the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe

Comedian Mark Simmons won the title of U&Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe with his pun, “I was going to sail around the globe in the world’s smallest ship but I bottled it.”

The joke was chosen by 40% of the public from a shortlist created by judges. Simmons, a Fringe veteran, has previously placed in the top 10 of the contest multiple times and is currently performing his More Jokes show at Liquid Rooms Annexe until 24 August before continuing his UK tour.

Here are the top 15 funniest jokes from this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival

1. I was going to sail around the globe in the world’s smallest ship but I bottled it. – Mark Simmons

2. I’ve been taking salsa lessons for months, but I just don’t feel like I’m progressing. It’s just one step forward… two steps back. – Alec Snook

3. Ate horse at a restaurant once – wasn’t great. Starter was all right but the mane was dreadful. – Alex Kitson

4. I sailed through my driving test. That’s why I failed it. – Arthur Smith

5. I love the Olympics. My friend and I invented a new type of relay baton: well, he came up with the idea, I ran with it.- Mark Simmons

6. My dad used to say to me “Pints, gallons, litres” – which, I think, speaks volumes – Olaf Falafel

7. British etiquette is confusing. Why is it highbrow to look at boobs in an art gallery but lowbrow when I get them out in Spoons? – Chelsea Birkby

8. I wanted to know which came first the chicken or the egg so I bought a chicken and then I bought an egg and I think I’ve cracked it. – Masai Graham

9. My partner told me that she’d never seen the film Gaslight. I told her that she definitely had – Zoë Coombs Marr

10. The conspiracy theory about the moon being made of cheese was started by the hallouminati. – Olaf Falafel

11. I’m an extremely emotionally needy non-binary person: my pronouns are ‘there there’. – Sarah Keyworth

12. I’ve got a girlfriend who never stops whining. I wish I’d never bought her that vineyard – Roger Swift

13. Gay people are very bad at maths. We don’t naturally multiply. – Lou Wall

14. Keir Starmer looks like an AI-generated image of a substitute teacher – Sophie Duker

15. Growing up rich is a hereditary condition. It affects 1% of people – Olga Koch

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