The Edinburgh Festival has lost its attractions as the Fringe has taken over, writes Rupert Christiansen. “Edinburgh has lost its dourness, dignity and mystique, surrendering its soul to swish boutiques and decadent youth. The Festival has, meanwhile, sprawled and spawned like some tentacular creature of the deep. The “official” selection of opera, ballet, classical concerts and foreign drama now makes up only a small element in an anarchic 24-hour carnival of performance that also embraces film, television and literature. In terms of both audience numbers and creative energy, the carnival is now Edinburgh’s motivating cultural force, leaving the International Festival marginalised.”