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"The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is not suffering from the recession, it has been reported. Advance ticket sales for the event have increased by 20% on last year, according to Ananova. Festival chief executive Kath Mainland said: &amp;quot;This year, the Fringe is bigger than ever. More people than before wanted to take part in it, so that&amp;#039;s a great thing. &amp;quot;People need cheering up in a recession and I think the Fringe is perfect for that.&amp;quot; The Pleasance venue reportedly has a doctor on standby due to the swine flu epidemic. Fringe 2009 will take place from August 7 to 31, showcasing over 2,000 individual shows, including performances from Ricky Gervais and Denise Van Outen. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/news/a170198/edinburgh-festival-thrives-in-recession/>