ED2012 News

Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms complex re-opens

By | Published on Friday 20 July 2012

Assembly Rooms

Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms have opened their doors once again after a £9.3 million refurbishment programme. The big revamp saw the George Street complex shut for eighteen months, meaning the building could not be used as a Fringe venue last summer.

Half a million crystals, half a tonne of Zoffany damask curtain fabric and historically accurate gilding have all reportedly been employed in returning the city-owned building to its former glory.

Although, with some of the Assembly Rooms now dedicated to shops and restaurants, not as many spaces will be available for use as venues during the Fringe, the building will once again host an array of great shows this August – albeit under new management, now being run at Festival time by the people behind Edinburgh’s year-round comedy hub The Stand rather than the Assembly Festival group, which has relocated to the Fringe’s Bristo Square hub.

Commenting on the relaunch of the Assembly Rooms, Richard Lewis, Edinburgh City Council’s Culture And Leisure Convener, told reporters: “The refurbishment over the last eighteen months has breathed new life into this uniquely important venue, combining sensitive and significant repairs and renovation with fully modernised events facilities fit for the 21st century”.



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