Huge attendances for late summer festivals after COVID-Safe push
Image: A pre-pandemic Ultra festival
Some suggest festival patrons are still nervous about attending events or large gatherings.
But some festivals staged in late summer – which in the live sector includes March – successfully managed to promote their COVID-Safe initiatives in their marketing.
They have attracted large enough crowds to generate millions of dollars for their respective economies and in the process remind governments they can be significant tourism draws.
Adelaide Fringe (February 18 to March 20) and Adelaide Festival (March 4—20) are tipped to jointly inject $100 million into the South Australian economy, premier and arts minister Steven Marshall has suggested.
Adelaide Fringe has already clicked over $2.8 million at the box office with 316 shows sold out, said director and chief executive, Heather Croall.
This was up 1.7% at the same time in 2021, which went on to hit $16.4 million from ticket sales of 632,667 even before the final weekend.
Meanwhile, Adelaide Festival’s interim executive director Kathie Massey reported that while venues are at 75% capacity, some shows have sold out.
Last year the festival shifted almost 61,000 tix (worth over $3.7 million, sailing past its target of $2.77 million) even before its final weekend.
In Melbourne, the St. Kilda Festival (February 5 – 13) usually has a total 400,000 attendance and an economic impact of $21 million.
This year, events were capped at 5,000.
Ultra Australia, back to just Melbourne this year (March 5), is close to selling out at Myer Music Bowl and adjoining Kings Park with its red hot bill, organisers confirmed to TMN.
DJ John Course
Also close to capacity at the Bowl is Reminisce (March 19), the club night which is celebrating its 10th year with founders Corey Topp & Mark Middo, and John Course and Richie McNeill of Hardware Group.
Reminisce started in a backyard in the beach suburb of Frankston with 30 friends, and now heads for a possible 15,000 complete with an accompanying documentary Backyard To The Bowl – 10 Years Of Reminisce.
Melbourne street party Brunswick Music Festival (March 4 to 14) traditionally draws 60,000.
Promoter Jynx House’s Amplified (February 12) at Coolum FC on the Sunshine Coast had a direct hit on its targeted audience.
The Jynx House’s Jai Roots and Noah Mirshahi told TMN last year that the plan was to start with 5,000 and slowly build up to 20,000.
Perth Festival (February 11 to March 6) won’t release official figures until early winter, but it’s expected they will be close to its 2021 numbers.
This was a total attendance of 473,616, a $3 million spend at the box office and another $19.1 million on food, hospitality and associated activities.
Spending by audiences, artists and the festival made a $32 million direct impact and $90.3 million in flow-on impact across the economy.
Perth Fringe 2022 (January 14 to February 13) reported a ticketed attendance of 230,000, up from the 220,000 from last year.
More than $6.4 million was spent at the box office, up from the $5.9 million in 2021.
This was despite a five-day mid-festival lockdown which saw 70,000 tickets refunded, and the cancellation of 42 interstate acts when the WA border did not open as planned on February 5.
“Our audiences have been as enthusiastic as ever, and they have been rewarded by experiencing the passion, energy and uniqueness of the Fringe entertainers talents,” summed up CEO Sharon Burgess.