THE bulk of tickets sold so far for this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe have been snapped up on-line.
Although a queue to buy briefs for shows stretched around the Fringe Shop and up the Royal Mile when sales began last week, more than 50 per cent of the tickets sold on day one were bought online.
The figure rose to more than 70 per cent as the week went on.
Fringe director Paul Gudgin said: "I'm very pleased with ticket sales so far. Thousands of people are getting hold of tickets for all their favourite shows early and getting in on all the hot tips.
"Over 70 per cent of tickets being sold online is a hugely impressive figure."
The top-selling shows in the first week of sales were Bill Bailey, Ed Byrne and The Goodies.
Last year, the Fringe sold a record 1,335,000 tickets, seven per cent more than in 2004. It was a staggering third year in a row that the Fringe had smashed through the million ticket barrier.
