The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has launched its programme for 2018 with 3548 shows on offer, the largest number in the event's history.

The performances cover a wide range of themes including the Me Too movement, the centenary of the First World War and "our lives online."

This year will also see the relaunch of street events, with more than 250 shows a day taking place on the Royal Mile.

New venues include Fireside under the arches of East Market Street and Cranston Caravan Club, which offer performances in a 1960s caravan.

Famous faces taking part include former Neighbours star Jason Donovan and broadcaster Esther Rantzen.

The IT Crowd's Katherine Parkinson will debut her play Sitting by Katherine Parkinson, while Hi-de-Hi! star Su Pollard will have a solo show titled Harpy.

Performers from 55 different countries will take part this year, with a total of 56,796 performances from the 3548 shows.

The total number of shows has risen by 4.4% from last year.

There will be 697 free shows, 260 shows which allow the audience to pay what they like and 1937 premieres.

Last year there were almost 2.7 million tickets released for shows across the Fringe.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said the theme for this year's Fringe would be "leap into the unknown."

Chief executive Shona McCarthy said: "This year we are encouraging everyone who comes to the Fringe to take a leap into the unknown.

"Whether this is your first or your 50th time visiting the Fringe as a performer or audience member, this is a place where new discoveries wait around every corner.

"There is no other festival in the world that offers such a broad or diverse range of cultural experiences."

Culture secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "The Fringe continues to innovate, inspire, challenge and delight audiences, providing Scottish artists the opportunity to showcase their work on a renowned platform to industry professionals from across the globe.

"It enables the international arts community to experience all that Edinburgh, our world-renowned festival city, has to offer."