Its official, the 2011 Adelaide Fringe was the biggest yet, reached a staggering 1.45 million in attendances, a 34% increase on 2010, with the biggest growth in attendance to paid performances.
Ticket sales were up 11% on 2010 amounting to a massive 334,000 tickets sold.
Announcing the success of this year’s festival, Adelaide Fringe Chair, Judy Potter, said “I am delighted to announce that Adelaide Fringe has pumped an estimated $40.8 million into the South Australian economy - an increase of 16.5% on 2010’s $35.1 million.”
Adelaide Fringe is widely regarded as one of the best events of its kind in the world and these extraordinary figures reaffirms its status as the largest arts festival in Australia.
“New initiatives such as the Fringe’s Caravan showcase stage and box office in Rundle Mall were instant hits directly contributing to the increase in ticket sales” added Ms Potter.
Adelaide Fringe Director, Greg Clarke, said “Interstate visitation also grew to just over 15,000 contributing to a record 37,600 visitor bed nights, an increase of 25.5% on 2010, creating a total visitor related expenditure within the state of $11.36 million”
BankSA Managing Director Jane Kittel said “It was fantastic to be involved in an event which brought such energy and atmosphere to Adelaide and South Australia, and at the same time delivered a robust economic contribution to the State. We’re looking forward to another excellent Fringe in 2012, and to being a part of its ongoing growth and development,’’ Ms Kittel said.
This year’s Fringe saw over 3,000 Artists, in 759 Events (+7% on 2010) giving 4,889 performances in 325 Venues. Over 100,000 attended free special events including the Adelaide Fringe Parade, Adelaide Street Theatre Festival and Spirit Festival.
200,000 watched Fringe artists showcasing their acts on the Caravan showcase stage in Rundle Mall, 91 Festival Directors travelled from all over the world looking for the next big thing to present in their festivals, the Fringe Caravan toured to Melbourne and Sydney to promote the Fringe to interstate audiences and $30,000 in prizes were awarded to Fringe artists.
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Adelaide Now Media Information: Belinda Redman 0413 154 720