It’s not often we look back 10 years to think about the size and impact of Australian performing arts festivals as they were then compared to now.
But when we do, it’s surprising to see how things have (or haven’t) changed over that time.
Looking specifically at the expenditure and income levels of major performing arts festivals back in 2013 is particularly striking, as it reveals how some festivals had about as much money to spend back then as they do today.
Rather alarmingly, Brisbane and Sydney Festivals have both seen only a 10% (approximately) increase in their annual budgets and income levels over the past 10 years, compared to Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases that show that average prices for ordinary consumer goods in Australia have risen around 30% over the same period.
This data is also in the context of a cost environment where many in the live performance sector report, anecdotally at least, that their raw costs of producing their shows have gone up at least 20% to 30% in the past five years alone (since COVID-19).
In this tough economic environment, where many in the live performance sector are feeling the pinch of continually rising raw costs, ArtsHub takes a look at some historical data to compare the spending levels, incomes, tickets sales and revenue sources of five of our major performing arts festivals to see what these comparisons can tell us.
Expenditure and income: what do 10-year comparisons reveal?
When it comes to how much money major festivals are spending now compared to 10 years ago, the standout performer (on paper) is clearly Adelaide Festival, which has seen a 62% increase in annual spending and a 63% growth in annual income over the 10 years (to 2023).
According to Adelaide Festival CEO Kath Mainland, part of this growth is due to the establishment of Foundation Adelaide Festival in 2019/20, which has allowed the Festival to attract higher levels of philanthropic donations and bequests than ever before.
“The establishment of Foundation Adelaide Festival, a dedicated philanthropic arm, in 2020 has been pivotal in supporting [our] growth,” she tells ArtsHub.
“Despite challenging times for the industry, Adelaide Festival has seen a remarkable 65% increase in growth in the last 10 years, [and] just as audiences and artists flock to Adelaide each March to take part in the Festival, our supporters are right here beside us, championing and celebrating the work that we do.”
The most recently available data (from 2023) shows Adelaide Festival’s philanthropic income accounted for 5.5% of its overall income (receiving $1.2 million in Foundation Adelaide Festival philanthropic donations in 2023/24 out of total overall income of $21.51 million).
Read: $10 million philanthropic gift will support Adelaide Festival Centre’s arts programming
These are impressive results; however, for festivals like Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, the annual income and expenditure growth over the past decade has been far more modest.
Sydney Festival, for example, has seen only an 11.8% growth in its annual income from 2013 to 2023. Though a small increase, it’s actually impressive given the Festival’s annual expenditure has grown by only 8.4% over the same period. This trend indicates it was able to turn more of its spending dollars into returns in 2023 compared to 2013 – effectively earning more money while spending slightly less.
Sydney Festival Executive Director Chris Tooher was unable to comment on the data in time for ArtsHub‘s deadline, thus limiting the scope of a proper analysis of these figures. However, these numbers alone indicate festivals like Sydney, Brisbane and Perth have seen only small increases in their spending capacities over the past 10 years – a metric that has obvious flow-on effects to their ability to attract larger audience numbers and achieve real organisational growth.
Are these festivals selling more tickets now than 10 years ago?
On the question of whether or not our major festivals are selling more tickets now than they were a decade ago, the simple answer is, for the most part, yes… But with some exceptions.
While Adelaide Festival has enjoyed spectacular ticket sales growth over the past 10 years (a 57% increase in number of tickets sold since 2013), Sydney and Perth Festival’s ticket sales have declined by 9% and 15% respectively.
Reflecting on this outcome, Perth Festival Executive Director Nathan Bennett says that, for his festival, the ticket sales decrease is largely due to a smaller Writers Weekend program in Perth Festival 2023 compared to 2013, and the fact that only one festival outdoor cinema was operating in 2023 instead of two, as was the case in 2013.
Meanwhile, Brisbane Festival ticket sales over the past 10 years have increased only marginally, achieving a 2% increase over the 10 years to 2023.
The Festival’s numbers of tickets sold in 2023 were by far the lowest of any festival in this survey (Brisbane Festival sold 56,532 tickets to its core program events in 2023 compared to the others, which sold anywhere from 86,000 to 128,000 tickets that year).
This lower outcome does align, however, with Brisbane Festival’s position as the one with the lowest spending capacity of any on this list – in 2023 that was about 20% lower than the other festivals included in this survey.
Wide lens view of bigger picture
While it’s easy to see these raw numbers as evidence of stagnation (for some festivals), according to Live Performance Australia’s (LPA) CEO, Eric Lassen, when the data is placed within the wider picture of the performing arts environment in Australia, there is every reason to see future growth and sustained success for these festivals in future.
As Lassen tells ArtsHub, “Our major arts festivals play a vital role in bringing new and diverse works to Australian audiences. They are also a great way to introduce new audiences to the breadth of artistic and creative talent in their midst.”
He adds that it is vital for government and other partners to support these festivals’ future growth, believing that “governments have a critical role to play in supporting festivals, as well as ensuring they have affordable access to venues and other infrastructure and services, so they can bring more Australians together around a brilliantly diverse collection of arts and cultural experiences”.
Read: RISING launches full festival program for June 2025
While Lassen concedes that, currently, “presenters of live performance across all categories are grappling with the challenges of increased production and touring costs, and shifts in audience behaviour compounded by cost of living pressures”, there are also green shoots to be found in LPA’s latest ‘Ticket Attendance and Revenue Report (2023)’.
Data from this report shows that in the ‘multi-category festivals’ annual ticket revenue of $92.4 million and over 2.4 million attendances were achieved overall – marking an increase on pre-pandemic revenue and attendance levels in a very welcome positive sign for the sector in otherwise tight market conditions.
