Festivals ‘need extra £11.5m’ after slump in ticket sales
EDINBURGH’s festivals are looking for an extra £11.5 million in funding over the next three years, as new figures reveal box office figures slumped at most events this summer.
Organisers say the additional investment is needed to help Edinburgh raise its international profile and compete with rival events such as the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
The Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Creative Scotland and the city council are all being asked to plough in extra cash to the festivals, which are already believed to be worth some £261m to the economy.
New figures have revealed ticket sales for the Edinburgh International Festival dropped 7.3 per cent this year, while the book festival’s attendances were down 4.7 per cent.
The jazz festival’s ticket sales fell 4.5 per cent, while the film festival suffered a 22 per cent drop. Only the Fringe recorded a significant increase, of 2.5 per cent, while the Mela’s box office was up marginally.
The city council, which compiles the figures and puts about £3.25m a year into the festivals, said attendances at non-ticketed events, such as free street theatre performances on the Royal Mile, dropped by 16 per cent this year.
It blamed the drop in attendances at ticketed events on bad weather in August.
A separate report on efforts to boost the festivals over the next three years said the aim was to ensure Edinburgh was the “must-see” cultural destination around the world and to reinforce its position as “the world’s leading festival city”.
It is hoped extra visitors will be lured from overseas on the back of interest in next year’s London Olympics, the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 and the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles the same year.
The council report says the festivals are banking on the Scottish Government to come up with about half of the extra £11.5m they say is needed to achieve their “ambitions”.
Creative Scotland, the government’s arts agency has pledged £500,000, while the council has ringfenced £650,000 over the next three years.
Alasdair Maclean, the council’s corporate director, said although events such as the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games provided a significant opportunity to promote Edinburgh, there was a potential risk that events elsewhere would attract some people who would otherwise head to the city.
“All of the funding partners are committed to focusing any available resources in delivering a strong and enhanced programme across the 2012-2014 period,” he said.
“The festivals have major ambitions for 2012-14. They intend to be innovative in their programming, achieve an enhanced international profile, and build strong international relationships for the broader benefit of the city, while ensuring Edinburgh is the ‘must see’ cultural destination to 2014 and beyond.”
In her report to the council, head of culture Lynne Halfpenny, pointed out there been a 1 per cent increase in ticket sales across all festivals this summer.
However, sales at the International Festival were down 10,700, while the book festival’s overall attendance fell by 9,488.
Although tickets for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo were still on sale when the event began its run, organisers insisted they had still notched up the 13th successive sell-out season.
Ms Halfpenny blamed the drop in sales on the weather, saying: “The heaviest rainfall for 20 years was recorded in August.”
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Comments
There are 13 comments to this article
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Jock McSpock
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 01:08 PM#10 many of us don't work in the retail or tourist trade, and we see not a penny of the £261m for "Edinburgh's economy". As a taxpayer, I don't mind a small nominal subsidy to promote public events. But as pointed out elsewhere, the EIF and Fringe should be perfectly capable of running within a budget, and if they can't then they should downsize or rethink their strategy before going cap-in-hand to local taxpayers, most of whom do not benefit from the festival.
searchanddestroy
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 12:12 PMOnce again the public sector seems to have no clue how the real world works. "The festivals need another 11.5 mil !!" .................well generate that money by showing stuff that people want to see you muppets. Its a commercial venture, if the product is gash it may well lose money. .......... "The city council, puts about £3.25m a year into the festivals" time for that to stop as well. If these things can't stand on their own 2 feet then thats just tough. .............. mind you seeing as Virgin just reamed the taxpayer over Northern Rock maybe they can shell out a few bob but NO COUNCIL TAX PAYERS MONEY SHOULD BE SQUANDERED ON THIS LILLIAN GISH
dgg
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 12:04 PMEIF sales down: new management and hi-falutin' ideas. And the weather. Fringe sales down: there are too many fringe shows methinks. The Fringe organisers simply assume that bigger is better, and that's their agenda. And the weather. I have sympathy for the EIF which is a showcase event, less for the Fringe where most performers come to Edinburgh knowing they're unlikely to make a profit, and don't really expect to. If the Fringe organisation itself makes a loss, maybe they should change higher fees from event organisers and expect a few less to turn up?
dgg
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 11:58 AM#8 the hotels and guest houses (and the restaurants etc) do stump up - through taxes and rates.
Phil C
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 11:05 AMAfter the damage Labour did to our economy and society in general and what the bankers did to global finances and tourism, the Festival's figures have held up well. Keep up the good work, but let's not go ploughing £millions more into this success story when there are more deserving causes. Mind you the money from Labour's unnecessary trams would have been useful!!
SteyBrae
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 11:03 AM"... all being asked to plough in extra cash to the festivals, which are already believed to be worth some £261m to the economy." So where does this £261m go? Recycle £11.5m from that - equal to 4.41% - and the issue is resolved. So come on hotels, guest houses, restaurants, taxis, airport, and all the other beneficiaries - stump up.
samcoldstream
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 10:17 AM"The 2011, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe alone, the world's largest arts festival, still sold an incredible One Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy Seven Thousand, One Hundred and Nineteen tickets (1,877,119) for 41,689 performances at 2,542 shows in 258 venues, over 25 days, for an average of 75,000 admissions and 1,360 performances per day! There were21,192 performers from over 60 countries. There were also 607 free shows.
Logie88
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 09:59 AMA few weeks ago the EIF director tried to get in a pre-emptive strike by claiming this years festival was a success. His obscure programme of Korean versions of the Tempest, Vietnamese dance and the like obviously went down like a lead balloon. Until we get a festival programme which highlights the best in the various art forms rather than the most pretentious the Festival will continue to fail.
claymore's edge
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 08:50 AMNot one single penny of Edinburgh council tax payer's money should be used for the increasingly alienating Fringe festival. The festivals are a parasite on Edinburgh. Of all the money pumped in to the Fringe and International festival, how much money is recuperated from the festivals?! The answer is none. Edinburgh council is close to £2 billion in debt but even then the councillors are spending other peoples money on events that will not be used or will be of benefit to local Edinburghers. It is obscene. In an increasingly dysfunctional and unproductive city where residents cant even get the council to sweep their street, that such wasteful opulence is being wasted on sex tourists and interlopers is just sick. Maybe its time to "Occupy" Edinburgh council's headquarters.....
LocalNumber Fife
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 07:12 AMLooks like TIE was responsible for yet another hole in Edinburgh's budget ! I don't think they have the slightest idea of how much their 'war zone conversions' have impacted on potential visitors. I traveled around Edinburgh yesterday - and the road signage is appalling - with little rhyme, reason, or consistency of application. When will the council wake up to the fact that a business trip to Edinburgh, has for some time been seen as a necessary evil as opposed to an enjoyable day out, and for a leisure trip, it's become an unnecessary evil.
Charles Linskaill
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 01:26 AMEDINBURGH’s festivals, Just got all too complacent, and have an arrogance they can charge what they like for tickets, having no concerns in what the Public can actually afford, EDINBURGH’s festivals Downfall is their own fault which inevitably would happen.
Charles Linskaill
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 12:56 AMEDINBURGH’s festivals, Just got to complacent, and have an arrogance they can charge what they like for tickets, having no concerns in what the Public can actually afford, EDINBURGH’s festivals Downfall is their own fault which inevitably would happen.
Kon
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 12:51 AMno doubt the SNP will subsidize this as well then declare it a "overwhelming" success.
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