EDINBURGH'S FESTIVALS TSAR has distanced herself from the fiasco which has hit the Fringe this year, and claims the flawed ticketing system is "an investment". On the eve of the Fringe's official opening, Faith Liddell, director of Festivals Edinburgh - an organisation which represents all the capital's festivals - told the Sunday Herald: "Some of the things that have been brought up about the Fringe's ticketing system, transport issues; those are all investments for the future and they are investments which will try and retain Edinburgh's position as a world-leading festival city."

The new software at the Fringe box office, which cost £335,000, was put in place in early June. But when it went live, the online ticket and telesales systems crashed, leaving hundreds of people queueing for hours for tickets, while others were able to buy tickets after shows were sold out. Last week Fringe director Jon Morgan said only 20 out of 32,000 performances had been oversold, but it is still unclear exactly how many people have been unable to buy tickets for shows they wanted to attend.

Liddell said that despite the obvious issues, her focus is to ensure the "best possible audience experience" and that "the world's greatest and most important cultural event goes as well as it possibly can". She added: "I can't say much more than that. My focus in on the big picture stuff."

However, culture minister Linda Fabiani was so concerned that ticket buyers would not be short-changed, she has demanded assurances from organisers that they are doing all they can to resolve the issue.

Liddell was appointed in December 2006 to oversee the capital's festivals after the Thundering Hooves report, commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council, warned of the threat to Edinburgh's events from rival offerings in Britain and abroad. The study said that one advantage other cities had was the "competitive edge" gained from much newer IT systems.

It also stated: "The media splash around these new festivals attracts the attention of artists who see an opportunity to get more publicity and coverage." And it cautioned that the capital could be in danger of becoming a "well-known has-been".

There is no doubt this year's Fringe has caused a "media splash", but for all the wrong reasons.

When asked if she thought the festival's competitive position had been compromised, Liddell said: "In a way that's an operational issue that may affect the big picture, and it's an operational issue which the Fringe are addressing."

She added: "I think you can only assess the damage once you know there is some and then you ensure you are delivering to audiences across all areas."

The "big four" venues - the Assembly, the Underbelly, the Pleasance and the Gilded Balloon - have their own box-office system, Via, which has been working smoothly.

Karen Koren, director of the Gilded Balloon, said: "The Fringe has been going for more than 60 years; I don't think one year of technology breaking down is going to stop it going."

Koren, who took over the Gilded Balloon in 1986, confirmed that a number of shows had been oversold but said her team were going through each ticket sale to check numbers.

When asked if she was nervous about today's official festival opening, she said: "If someone turns up and we've oversold we'll offer them another day. It's going to be very much on-the-day stuff, but we'll handle it."

Tommy Sheppard, director of The Stand Comedy Club, which is hosting shows across four stages at this year's Fringe, said: "I think there's a danger of talking ourselves into a crisis. Some newspapers have gone really overboard with their coverage this week.

"We will recover from it. I know we've had some problems, but if people want to see a show they will do."