Unique postmark to celebrate Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015

For the first time in its 500-year history, Royal Mail is to issue a postmark featuring an arts festival.

The postmark, which will be applied to stamped UK mail from 7 to 31 August 2015, celebrates the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - the world's largest arts festival.

Local postman Stuart Millar and postwoman Katrina Coll (pictured) had a sneak preview of the special postmark in Edinburgh today, along with Kath Mainland, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society. Royal Mail’s postmarks are reserved for special occasions and are used to recognise significant events, historical anniversaries or support of charity.

The postmark (pictured above) features the words 'Edinburgh Festival Fringe 07-31 August'.

Speaking of this 'first' in the Royal Mail's history, Andrew Hammond, Director of Stamps & Collectibles at Royal Mail, said, 'Since it was started in 1947, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has become an iconic event not only in Scotland but across the UK and the world and we wanted to pay tribute to that.

'We are delighted to be sharing the excitement of the event with the millions of customers that use Royal Mail every day.'

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Scotland’s capital city. 2015 will see 50,459 performances of 3,314 shows from 49 countries in 313 venues. The Festival is a popular celebration in Edinburgh's busy events calendar, with accommodation and restaurants booked up months in advance.

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