Record attendances at Adelaide Festival Centre for hit musical Mary Poppins has positive impact on South Australian economy

The hit musical Mary Poppins was one of the highest attended productions at Adelaide Festival Centre, with record breaking attendances since the pandemic of more than 110,000 and attracted almost 20% of its visitors from regional South Australia, interstate or overseas.

A new economic study, by Barry Burgan Economic research consultants, has found the critically acclaimed production, which played for almost eight weeks at Adelaide Festival Centre’s Festival Theatre in 2023, brought an estimated total expenditure of $23.4 million to Adelaide’s CBD - $20.5 million of which was new to the city.

Adelaide Festival centre Chief Executive and Artistic Director Douglas Gautier said the report showed the greater economic contribution of the arts in South Australia and highlighted the importance of a thriving cultural landscape noting“Mary Poppins was one of our most successful shows ever at Adelaide Festival Centre and it’s wonderful to see the positive impact it’s had on the cultural landscape of our city and to the state’s economy.

“We are thrilled audiences embraced this magical musical with such enthusiasm and it attracted so many people to Adelaide to enjoy the excitement of live performance.

“We thank theatregoers and the Mary Poppins company for a stellar season and look forward to announcing more blockbuster shows at Adelaide Festival Centre for audiences to enjoy in the future.”

SA Minister for Arts Andrea Michaels added “It was an absolute joy to have Mary Poppins in South Australia, delighting audiences from across the state and delivering a whopping $23.4 million to our state’s economy.

“Its success demonstrates not only the incredible cultural benefits of the arts with many children experiencing the theatre for the first time, but also the extraordinary economic return with thousands of people visiting Adelaide to see the show boosting our hotels, restaurants and small businesses.”

With numerous sold-out performances and countless standing ovations, Mary’s arrival in South Australia had audiences and critics raving and declaring Mary Poppins “practically perfect” (The Advertiser), “full of heart and joy... a must see” (GlamAdelaide), “an absolute triumph” (Barefoot Review), “brimming with energy, magic, and family-friendly delight” (InReview) and “filled with charm.” (Broadway World).

Michael Cassel Group Chief Executive and producer Michael Cassel shared “It was an enormous pleasure to bring Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s incredible new production of Mary Poppins to Adelaide for the very first time.

“We couldn’t have been more thrilled with the way South Australian audiences embraced the world’s favourite nanny with such warmth and enthusiasm and we remain forever grateful for their wonderful support of the show.

“The success of Mary Poppins is testament to how much audiences in Adelaide love seeing first class, blockbuster productions and we look forward to visiting again and continuing our tremendous partnership with the Adelaide Festival Centre.”

The new Australian production of Mary Poppins is produced in Australia by Cameron Mackintosh, The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand, and Michael Cassel Group. It landed in Sydney in 2022 and was followed by critically acclaimed seasons in Brisbane and Melbourne before flying to Adelaide and Perth.   

For more information about what’s on at Adelaide Festival Centre visit adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au