Day in the life of – EICC during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) is a world-renowned venue for conferences and events, boasting unparalleled amenities and the latest technologies. However, for one month of the year it transforms into a buzzing Festival venue, hosting not one but two leading Festivals.

We spoke with Matthew Kelly, assistant operations manager for Leith’s at the EICC, part of Compass Scotland, about his experience during August.

Can you tell us about the events taking place at the venue?

For the entirety of August, the building proudly becomes a venue for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, also known as ‘Pleasance at EICC’. The Fringe is one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture on the planet and takes place every August, taking over the city with comedy, theatre and performance.

From 20 - 23 August, we also welcomed the Edinburgh TV Festival, which is the home of independent debate in TV, with keynotes, masterclasses, and debates featuring some of the most-respected voices in the industry.

What catering did you provide?

This year, we had a street food style offering, serving tacos, gourmet toasties and waffles – all designed to be tasty and quick. Toastie options included venison, haggis and cheese, while taco flavours included fish and banana blossom. Waffles on offer were Cranachan, Biscoffee and Blue cheese and fig. Our chefs worked hard to create mouth-watering items for the street food stalls. We do a lot of banqueting throughout the year, so this set-up is very different from the norm.

We also partnered with some local businesses, including Johnnie Walker and Cold Town Beer, to create a dining and drinking hub with a beer garden feel, and entertainment and games to play. Our freshly brewed local beer was provided by Cold Town Beer, which aligns perfectly with our values to support local suppliers, as it is brewed just half a mile away from the venue.

What are visitor numbers like in August and how does this compare with the events you manage at other times of the year?

On average, conferences at the EICC are around 1,000 delegates at a time. For the Fringe, we average around 3,000 per day, and for the last week in August the TV Festival can add another 1,200 during the day and a further 1,500 at night.

One of our sell-out shows this summer was Miriam Margolyes, so we had eight consecutive days with 1,200 tickets sold daily for the show.

While this sounds a lot - more than double our regular daily average - it’s perfectly manageable because it’s spaced out and well planned. Bookings are often made in advance, so the sales and events team prepare around the numbers, and it all works seamlessly.

What would you say is one of the secrets to success when managing events like the Fringe?

Key to our success – and to our sanity – is our flawless queuing system. Operations manager, John-Paul Valentine, has created a system to ensure the flow of clients is steady, with pre-poured pints ready to go as people order them. We also have the Pentland Bar on the top floor of the venue, which opens 30 minutes before each show and offers ‘ready to drink’ drinks, such as cans or spirits, beers, wine and soft drinks. When people are here to see a show, they don’t want to have to wait for their drinks, so keeping the queues down and service fast is crucial.

We’ve had fantastic compliments from visitors saying it was the best bar experience of the Festival, which we love to hear! And the food options have been highlighted as some of the ‘best of the fest’ on social media. Our job is all about the customer experience, so when we hear this kind of feedback, it makes us all very happy.

Whatever event we’re managing, our ethos is always to create the ultimate experience for the client – with the best service and a great product. The Fringe is no different.

What’s the best thing about working at the EICC during August?

Working during the Fringe is like nothing else. The whole feeling of the building is different and it’s exciting to be doing something so far from the norm for a month. There’s a real buzz about the place, with an incredible atmosphere. We experience a lot more interactions with customers – and they’re all here to have a good time. It’s lots of fun and everyone enjoys it.

It’s also a lot more hands on, so the team gets stuck into a greater variety of tasks than they’d normally get the opportunity to – the front of house staff are trained up to cook and plate up the street food, with our exec chef overseeing things and getting involved in serving when it’s busy. There’s a real sense of camaraderie and the full team pulling together.

Plus, we get the occasional celeb spot between the Fringe and the TV Festival, which can be fun!

What happens next?

The last day of the Fringe was 31 August, and in the click of a finger we’re back to delivering world-class conferences and events. Our first conference was on 2 September, so the street food stalls and Aperol Spritz Garden are packed away, the uniforms come back out and a slightly more business vibe resumes!