Perth’s Fringe World delivers over $70 million in economic impact

Attracting an audience of 660,093 in 2015, in just four years the Perth Fringe festival has become a major event in the West Australian capital, delivering $70.9 million in economic impact.

Fringe World 2015’s Festival Impact Report documents the Festival’s significant economic contribution to the state, and emphasises the event’s rapid growth since it was first presented in 2012.

 According to the Festival Impact Report, the total gross economic movement achieved by the Festival in Western Australia was almost $70.9 million, value-adding $51.73 for every $1 of the Western Australian Government’s  investment in the event.

Festival Director Amber Hasler said the story of Fringe World’s success was about the spirit and enthusiasm of the Western Australian community.

Hasler stated “2015 was a landmark year for Fringe World, with the Festival achieving box office sales of more than $6.4 million, making it the largest box office earner of any arts festival in WA.”

The 2015 Festival almost doubled in size from the previous year with a program of 556 events at 113 venues, featuring 2,626 artists and achieving an audience of 660,093 people at both free and ticketed attendance. The festival recorded 258,438 ticketed attendees, generating over $6.4 million in ticket sales.

In comparison, the world’s largest fringe – the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe – featured 3,193 events at 299 venues, and sold 2.18 million tickets; while in 2015, Australia's largest and oldest Fringe festival, the Adelaide Fringe, featured 1,058 events at 376 venues, and sold 540,860 tickets, generating $13.3 million in ticket sales.

Audience feedback indicated that 97% of respondents feel that Fringe World contributes to making Northbridge and Perth’s city centre a more vibrant place; 77% of respondents agreed that the Festival contributed to them feeling safer in Northbridge and the Perth city centre.

The Festival attracted a high number of first-time visitors: 22.7% of those surveyed said they were attending Fringe World for the first time, while 98.4% of audience members surveyed said they intended to return to Fringe World in 2016. The vast majority (95%) also reported that the Festival made them more inclined to attend arts events in future, and that they were more interested in seeing lesser-known acts in future, following their experiences at Fringe World.

The full Fringe World Festival 2015 Impact Report can be downloaded at www.fringeworld.com.au/about.

The 2016 Fringe World Festival will run from 22nd January to 21st February.

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