Adelaide Festival secures additional $2.3 million to attract major international acts to South Australia

The Adelaide Festival has secured an additional $2.3 million over the next three years from the South Australian Government to attract national and international audiences.

The extra funding from the state’s Major Events Fund will be used to secure major international events to bolster the Adelaide Festival’s program in 2024 through to 2026.

Adelaide Festival Chair Judy Potter shared “With additional funding from the South Australian Government over the next three years, the Festival is set to thrive and make vibrant contributions to our region's artistic tapestry.”

New figures show this year’s Adelaide Festival contributed an incredible estimated gross expenditure of $57.6 million to the state’s economy (up from $51.8 million in 2022).

Visitor bed nights increased to 105,943 (up from 103,335 in 2022), with an average spend per visitor in South Australia of $4,676 (up 47% from $3,168 in 2022) and created the equivalent of 324 full-time jobs (up from 250 in 2022).

The success of the 2023 Adelaide Festival follows a record-breaking season for both WOMADelaide and the Adelaide Fringe, which became the first event in Australia to sell one million tickets.

The South Australian Government committed to nearly doubling the Adelaide Fringe’s funding with an additional $8 million over four years at the election and this year’s triumph clearly demonstrates the economic value of investing in the arts.

That significant investment is already paying dividends with the 2023 Adelaide Fringe generating a record economic benefit, up 40% on 2022.

The South Australian Government continues to invest heavily in arts and culture including by:

• Investing an additional $8 million in grants to support both artists and smaller arts collectives to develop new work.

• Providing the Adelaide Film Festival with an additional $2.5 million to become an annual event

• Issuing more than 2760 vouchers to support clubs, pubs and small bars around the state to host more live music

• Providing 330 grants for venue improvements and events to support live music performances.

• Investing $250,000 for mental health support for musicians and performers.

• Returning live music to the Royal Show for the first time in 20 years last year, which provided a performance platform for 496 individual SA artists.

• Establishing the Premier’s Live Music Council.

• Bringing back a dedicated Arts Minister.

Image. Adelaide Festival 2023 Spinifex Gum and the MSO Credit: Mark Gambino