Adelaide Fringe 2021 reports impressive economic impact to the South Australian economy

Adelaide Fringe 2021 has reported the event delivered $56.39 million in gross economic impact to the South Australian economy and generated $31.6 million in new net expenditure to the state notwithstanding the challenges posed from COVID.

Adelaide Fringe 2021 safely presented the largest arts festival in the world, successfully injecting much-needed tourism and money into the South Australian economy. Despite capacity restrictions and a slight decrease in number of shows (due to international and domestic border closures), audiences threw their support behind the festival. Fringe attracted 2.8 million attendances in March, maintaining its status as the biggest festival in the southern hemisphere and, in 2021, the world.

The box office revenue totalled $16.4 million from 632,667 tickets sold. Of those, 73,710 tickets were sold to 26,649 tourists visiting South Australia, resulting in 85,337 visitor bed nights. The number of visitors to the state for Adelaide Fringe highlights the cultural significance of the festival to interstate travellers even during challenging times.

Adelaide Fringe Director and Chief Executive, Heather Croall said extensive efforts in preparing for Fringe 2021 and working collaboratively with artists and venues paid off and surpassed all expectations.

Croall advised “to deliver the only festival of this scale in the world in such an unpredictable climate was incredible. On average we sold 20,000 tickets each day, and including free activities, we saw an average of more than 80,000 people out each night for the 31 nights.

“Fringe 2021 brought the city and state to life with people not only enjoying the shows but also supporting local businesses. Extra support from the State and Federal Government was absolutely critical in being able to present this year’s Fringe. We dispersed those funds directly to artists and venues to give them confidence to present their work, many who had not performed for over a year. Adelaide Fringe is always a collaboration between artists, venues, sponsors and audiences and this year we also worked closely with SA Health to deliver the magical month of Fringe.”

Croall said while the economic impact was important, the festival also provided a strong cultural and social impact to artists, audiences and the wider South Australian community.

“Audiences craved Fringe this year along with the opportunity to re-connect with art and people once again; it really did impact people’s mental health on a positive level. This year, we delivered $33 million in total social benefit to South Australians and 4,431 peak direct and indirect jobs were created as a result of Adelaide Fringe 2021.”

From a recent Fringe audience survey, 97% felt the Adelaide Fringe positively impacted their mental health, while 96% felt the festival had a positive impact on their social connectivity.

In 2021, Fringe celebrated its most diverse and innovative year yet with 9.7% of the program including First Nation themes, artists or creatives, and 7% of artists and creatives having a lived experience of disability.

Fringe 2021 was able to distribute over $750,000 in grants to artists and venues this year, with 29% of grants being distributed to First Nations recipients and 33% of grants distributed to recipients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Immersive projects that explore the intersection of art and technology continued to be a successful part of the program as is the case since 2016 when light and projection works were introduced at Fringe. This year, Borealis at Gluttony and Mountain by Stalker at RCC attracted over 85,000 audience members to their innovative digital light shows.

Adelaide Fringe proudly celebrated a 16-year partnership with Principal Partner BankSA in 2021. BankSA State General Manager Consumer, Ben Owen, said that this year’s Fringe was all about getting back to growth – with remarkable results.

Owen noted “Adelaide Fringe is part of the fabric of South Australia and I’m thrilled that BankSA’s long-standing partnership continues to focus on building economic activity and backing what’s important for our state.

“Our partnership again focused on increasing accessibility and affordability to performances. Through our 25% off ticket price offer, BankSA supported over $500,000 worth of tickets for our cardholders, and by subsiding ticket prices to shows by emerging artists, we contributed $24,000 at a time when they needed it most.”

Croall said the focus now shifts to preparing for Adelaide Fringe 2022 and encouraging all artists to be part of the magic, “there are so many artists who are already looking forward to next year and planning is already well underway.”

Adelaide Fringe 2021 would not have been possible without the support from the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative with Arts SA and The Department of Premier and Cabinet.

The 2022 Adelaide Fringe will run from 18th February to 20th March.

For more information go to adelaidefringe.com.au 

2021 Adelaide Fringe Facts and Figures:

• Gross economic impact of $56.39 Million

• Adelaide Fringe 2021 featured 5085 artists, 905 events over 318 venues, over 394 performance spaces including 84 open air events

• 632,667 tickets sold

• Estimated 2.8 million total attendances

• Total new visitor and retained local spend attributable to the Adelaide Fringe is $31.6 million

• Adelaide Fringe 2021 created 4,431 peak direct and indirect jobs

• Through generous donations and Government funding, Adelaide Fringe was able to distribute over $750,000 worth of grants to support diverse artists and events

• 17 First Nations Collaboration Grants were distributed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to help them present work at Fringe 2021

Images from top: Adelaide Fringe 2021 Inma. Credit: Jordan Gollan; Adelaide Fringe 2021 Rundle Mall Box Office. Credit: Topbunk; Adelaide Fringe 2021 Circus Wonderland. Credit: Farhad Noori