With the Edinburgh Festival just a month away, demand for fireworks tickets is appropriately sky-high.  We've already talked about the fireworks on FringeGuru's Ticket Alert - but for those who've just joined us, here's an update on availability at the start of July.

About the show

This year's display is on Sunday 31 August, when to live orchestral accompaniment, upwards of 100,000 pyrotechnics go up in the air in an intense 45-minute show.  Despite the refinement of the classical music, there's little subtle about the display: crescendo builds upon crescendo towards an impossible, light-drenched finale.  The show starts as the sun sets, and brings the curtain down on the Festival a little before 10pm.

Do you need a ticket?

You won't want to miss this spectacular event, but you can get a great view of it without spending any money at all.  Good spots include North Bridge and Calton Hill, and there's a family area a little further away at Inverleith Park.  For more information on watching for free, see our main article on viewing the fireworks.

Princes Street Gardens

Being in earshot of the orchestra adds a new dimension, as you appreciate the synchronization between music and sky

Gardens tickets are priced at a modest £10 - but only you can decide whether it's worth the money for a ringside seat.

Ticket buying options

If you're good to go, you've two more chances to get your hands on Princes Street Gardens tickets this year.

On Monday 21 July, a batch of tickets goes on sale through the International Festival's website.  Although these will sell out by lunchtime, if you're at your PC at the right moment you should be in luck.  You can only book online and you're limited to four tickets each, but there's nothing to stop a larger group getting more than one person to book.  More information on the online sale.

If you miss out on the website, you could always join the queue for the counter sale, a week before the show itself on Sunday 24 August.  But be warned, this is no easy undertaking - while you don't quite need to camp out overnight, you will have to be in place by the early morning.

If you're wondering what happened to the postal ballot - we're sorry, that closed back in May.  Sign up for Ticket Alert and be first in the queue next year!

Just joined us?

If you've only just found FringeGuru, there's lots more Festival ticket news to catch up on.

As always, the attention's centred on the Festival Fringe, whose programme launched at the start of June.  But don't overlook the Book Festival - where tickets are going fast - nor the late-July Festival of Jazz and Blues.  And box offices are open at the International Festival, the "official" event which started it all.

Ten Festivals, three thousand shows - it all happens here.  Don't let it pass you by.  Catch up with ticket news on FringeGuru.