 The festival is the last with Sir Brian McMaster as director |
First day ticket sales for the Edinburgh International Festival have soared this year, organisers said. A 25% rise on the figure for last year was described as a "great endorsement" by a spokeswoman for the event.
Tickets worth �200,000 were purchased when the box office opened on Saturday, setting a new record for sales on the first day.
This year's festival, running from 13 August to 3 September, is the last with Sir Brian McMaster as director.
The programme includes the world premiere of a play based on a controversial novel about sex tourism in Thailand.
Catalan director Calixto Bieito has adapted Platform by novelist Michel Houellebecq.
Other shows include Mozart's The Magic Flute, Chekov's The Three Sisters and Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida.
There will also be a ballet production of Don Quixote by choreographer George Balanchine.
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