Edinburgh Festival Fringe has attracted record audiences with an estimated 2.6 million tickets issued for shows, say organisers.

After 53,232 performances of 3,398 shows in 300 venues across Edinburgh, the curtain finally comes down and the house lights go up on the 2017 programme.

By Monday afternoon, with hundreds of performances still to take place, figures showed there had been a 9% increase in ticket sales compared to 2016's figures.

A spokesman for the Fringe said: "We can confirm that more people than ever attended shows at the Fringe with an estimated 2,696,884 tickets issued for shows across Scotland's capital.

"The number of tickets issued reflects a 9% increase compared to tickets issued by the same point last year."

The 2017 Fringe included performances in a swimming pool, a boat, a bathroom, a football ground, a tunnel and a racecourse.

The programme also featured shows that addressed themes of belonging, identity, grief, Brexit, Trump, fake news, the Syrian conflict, gender and activism.

Shona McCarthy, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: "This has been a very special year for the Fringe as we celebrated 70 years of defying the norm, 70 years of the greatest melting pot of arts and culture anywhere on the planet and 70 years of Edinburgh as an internationally renowned festival city.

"In the current climate of global uncertainty, we were delighted to see an increase of 29% in the number of countries represented in this year's Fringe Programme. "

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs said: "The Fringe contributes strongly to Scotland's culture and economy and is key to the growth of our tourism and creative industries."