The calendar's rolled forward into July and there's just one short month to go to the Edinburgh Festival.  June was a busy month for programme launches and ticket releases - so let's pause, catch our breath, and review what we all need to get booking now.

Festival and Fringe

Tickets for the upmarket International Festival have been on sale since April - but there's still space at many of its flagship events.  Opera L'Orfeo is close to selling out, as is the Usher Hall rendition of Monteverdi's Vespers; the programme of early music at Greyfriars Kirk is also selling well, but there's good availability for On Danse, the visual spectacular which graces the front of the International Festival's programme.  You can browse and book on the EIF's web site.

The Fringe programme launched with great ceremony back at the start of June, and at a thumping 288 pages it's (predictably enough) the largest ever.  It's quite overwhelming, and we'd tend to suggest you hold back from booking until you've seen a few reviews; but, just for fun, we've recorded our first thoughts on the programme.

The Film Festival, the third of Edinburgh's original festivals, hasn't launched its programme yet.  Look out for full details on 11 July.

Books and blues

Two of Edinburgh's smaller festivals made a big splash in June, as both the Jazz and Blues Festival and the Book Festival launched their 2007 programmes.  Tickets shift quickly for these, so if you're in Edinburgh on the relevant dates - check the schedule here - it's time to get a programme and make your picks.

We reported on the Jazz and Blues programme launch back on 13 June, with advice on how to get the programme and buy your tickets.  There's still time to get places at all the jazz events, but the most popular are sure to sell out soon.  So if you're here at the end of July, take a look at the programme - there's no more civilized run-in to the Festival season.

The Book Festival launched its programme just a few days later, and the signs are that this will be one of its best years ever.  A few events sold out on the very first day of booking, but there's still plenty to choose from at Charlotte Square - with best-selling authors, leading journalists and the occasional politician on hand right across the two-week programme.

Events

We're afraid you've missed the postal ballot for the end-of-festival fireworks, but there's another ticket release at the end of July; sign up for Ticket Alerts to your Inbox if you'd like a reminder when the date nears.

But you can still get grandstand tickets for the Festivals cavalcade, the family-friendly wheeled spectacular which opens the Festival season.  With vintage cars, marching bands and no end of showmanship, it's a great afternoon out and a fine start to your Festival adventure.

We hope you've enjoyed our round-up of 2007's ticket news.  We're looking forward to keeping you up to date through July and as the Festival gets underway in August.

If you'd like to be the first to hear when we post Ticket Alerts on our website, sign up to get Ticket Alerts in your Inbox.  It only takes a couple of minutes - and of course, if you change your mind, you can unsubscribe at any time.