Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 7 - 31 August (previews from 5 August) 

Today was a red-letter day for Festival enthusiasts - as, amidst much city-centre fanfare, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe unveiled its 2009 programme.  It's the moment we've all been waiting for: with less than two months to go until the annual extravaganza begins, the release of the printed programme offers our first true insight into what's on offer this year.

With all due deference to the International Festival - which opened up ticket sales way back in April - it's the much larger Fringe launch which really heralds the start of the Festival run-in.  FringeGuru joined the small crowd at the Fringe's High Street office, where staff ripped away the brown paper hiding this year's window display and handed out copies of the programme to the expectant queue.

Confounding fears of a recessionary meltdown, it's yet another record-breaking year for the Fringe.  With an extraordinary 2,098 shows spread across a 25-day run, the curtain will rise on 34,000 individual performances before August is out.  As befits an open-access arts festival, there's no theme linking these disparate events - and equally, no trammel to the visiting performers' boundless creativity.

What's on this year?

The sheer scale of the programme makes it futile to summarize, but a flick through the weighty tome throws up some eye-catching highlights.  Big names among the galaxy of stars in the comedy section include Phil Kay, Clive James, and Paul Merton, while Denise van Outen has made headlines for her jokey one-woman musical Basildon Blonde.

The Fringe's theatre section is the usual mix of the traditional and the up-to-date - ranging from the Canterbury Tales, told at the equally venerable venue C Too, to a brand-new play based on the Mumbai attacks titled A Personal War.  In musicals and opera there's no less variety, as Facebook: The Musical rubs shoulders with Pirates of Penzance.

In visual arts, major exhibitions focus on Spanish art and, at the Gallery of Modern Art, there's a smorgasbord of high-profile works under the collective banner Artist Rooms.  Art lovers will have still more to celebrate near the end of July, when the Edinburgh Art Festival launches its programme.

And of course, the Fringe wouldn't be the Fringe without a few bursts of madness.  So three cheers for: the venue that has space for just one punter; the show in the Assembly Rooms' toilets; and the return of the Fringe's most unexpected smash hit, the one and only Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre.

Getting the programme

Full listings are up on the Fringe website, but it's quite hard work; for browsing, there's really no beating a printed copy.

In Edinburgh, good places to grab a programme include the tourist information centre at Waverley Steps, the Hub up by the Castle, and of course the Festival Fringe shop on the Royal Mile.  According to the Fringe website, you'll also find them in branches of Waterstone's, HMV and Fopp.

If you're in London, check out the list of outlets on the Fringe's website.  Readers in Glasgow have a number of options, too.

Elsewhere in the UK and Ireland, you can get a programme from selected branches of HMV and Fopp - though be warned, you'll need to make your way to your nearest major city.  Again, check the Fringe website for advice on where to go.

Or to have the programme posted to you, sign up on the Fringe's website.  Unsurprisingly, considering it weighs in at a hefty 288 pages, they charge a postage fee.

Getting the tickets

The Fringe's box office opens at noon on Monday.  We have a lot of information on the arcane world of Fringe ticketing, but at this stage it's pretty simple - call the box office on 0131 226 0000, or get onto the Fringe's website.

If you'll be bringing a friend to a lot of Fringe shows, it's worth considering the Friends of the Fringe scheme.  For a fee of £18 (or £15 if you pay by direct debit), you'll get 2-for-1 tickets on a broad range of shows, identified in the programme - though it's worth knowing that big-name acts are usually excluded from the deal.  You'll also get a couple of days' head start on booking, with a priority phone line opening on Friday.  It's well worth considering if you're part of a twosome; you can get details and sign up here.

First time at the Fringe?  Not sure what to book?  Don't panic... you've got plenty of time.  Read our editorial on why the box office launch won't be a stampede.

From Saturday, and throughout June, we'll be choosing a daily Preview Pick from the 2009 Fringe programme.  To find out what FringeGuru's experts are pencilling into their diaries, check back on FringeGuru.com.  Or get ready for our daily choices by following us on Twitter.