2014 Edinburgh Fringe

More details

The most unbelievably prestigious award at the Fringe is back for a fifth triumphant year

Tricity Vogue's much loved ukulele contest, The Uke Of Edinburgh Awards, is back at the Edinburgh Fringe this August, bigger and brighter than ever. Ukulele players have battled nightly to win the coveted title at Tricity's sell-out Free Festival show Tricity Vogue's Ukulele Cabaret for four years on the trot, as the irresistible little instrument has won more and more fans among performers and audiences alike.

This year, Tricity is turning The Uke Of Edinburgh Awards into a full-on Grand Slam spectacular on an epic scale, for one day only, in the New Empire Bingo hall. The finest ukulele acts in the world will fight tooth-and-claw to make it through the nail-biting heats and claim their glorious prize - a chance to strum the legendary instrument on Tricity's head.

Cabaret performer Tricity Vogue will host the show wearing a spectacular golden ukulele hat, which doubles as a fully functioning instrument - an instrument that will get a good strumming from the winner of The Uke Of Edinburgh Award in the show's finale.

Previous strummers of Tricity's head have included the 2013 hit ensemble Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra, perennial Fringe favourite Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer, Mr "Pick of the Fringe" himself Mervyn Stutter and New York musician and international ukulele standard-bearer Amanda Palmer.

2014 contestants lining up to get their hands on Tricity's golden instrument include geek comedian Helen Arney of Festival of the Spoken Nerd, golden-voiced enchantress Lady Carol, Boy Wonder of comedy Joby Mageean, and teutonic outsider Eva Von Schnippisch.

"It's going to be like Strictly Come Dancing meets Lucha Mexican Wrestling - with ukuleles," promises the show's cheeky hostess. "All the classic ingredients from past years will be there - the audience singalongs, the surprise judges, the larking about. But with a massive venue to play in we'll have room for a lot of extra va va voom."

For anyone interested in learning ukulele themselves, Tricity will be leading two free workshops at Rae Macintosh music shop, on Saturday 2 and 9 August from 12 noon.