Left to right: Orla Henaghen, Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, Helen Willder and Tom Dolby.

The creators of the colourful and vibrant 70th Anniversary Fringe programme covers are perhaps not who you would expect…

Helen Willder, aged six, Tom Dolby, aged eight, and Orla Henaghen, aged 13, were the winners of the 2017 Fringe Schools Poster Competition supported by Virgin Money.

Revealed at a special Fringe prize-giving celebration at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, the winning designs are now the cover images for the official 70th anniversary Fringe Programme and will be seen by thousands of locals and visitors from across the UK and around the world this summer.

Winners were selected from three age categories by an expert panel including the competition’s champion artist, Jon Bishop, a.k.a The Grey Earl.

Left to right: Orla Henaghen, Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, Helen Willder and Tom Dolby.
Left to right: Orla Henaghen, Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, Helen Willder and Tom Dolby.

Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said:

“It has been an inspirational day meeting our winners and their families and I hope that all those who participated in the competition will be encouraged to continue developing their creative skills and engaging with the arts. I’m delighted to have shared a taste of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with schoolchildren from around Scotland today, and I am thrilled that in this special anniversary year, Scotland’s young people have been given the opportunity to design the cover of the 2017 official Fringe Programme. The Fringe Programme is an important tool for audiences and participants to navigate their way through the thousands of events at the festival and I’m sure that these three eye-catching cover designs will be enjoyed by everyone taking part in the Fringe this year.”

As well as seeing their design turned into a programme cover, each winner has been presented with £150 cash and £150 culture vouchers to support and encourage their passion for creativity.

238 classes from 187 schools entered the competition with over 5,500 pupils submitting designs in response to the creative brief. Supported by Virgin Money, the competition launched in 1980 and is one of Scotland’s longest-running arts outreach projects with new schools engaging with the competition and the Fringe every year.