Pot of gold rare find at Edinburgh Fringe

By Paul Majendie

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - The Edinburgh Fringe is a bit like Hollywood -- thousands go chasing glory there, few find it.

Organizers of the event billed as the world's largest arts festival warn the thousands of comedians, actors and musicians who show up each year that this is not the place to make money -- but eternal optimists keep on coming.

"There are always the rags to riches stories," Fringe director Jon Morgan said. "The dark horses appear every year, people nobody had ever heard of."

But the competition is fierce as nearly 19,000 performers are vying for attention in more than 2,000 shows in this annual outburst of artistic mayhem in the Scottish capital. Last year the Fringe sold 1.5 million tickets -- a new record.

Morgan issues stark admonitions to performers: "They must know what the territory is and we make sure we tell them. We say, 'You are unlikely to make any money in Edinburgh."'

But the lure is irresistible in a town that swarms every August with talent scouts and TV producers.

"I liken it to Hollywood -- a few people come every year as complete unknowns and leave weighed down by awards," said Andrew Eaton, arts editor of The Scotsman newspaper. "One day you are working in a waffle bar, the next you get a role in a hit TV show."

But calculating how much it costs to stage a show at the Fringe, the feisty offshoot of the official high arts Edinburgh festival of ballet, music and theater, can be sobering.