Plans for Future Attendance
September 2022
Cultural Participation MonitorWave 7 | Autumn 2022
This research is from The Audience Agency's nationwide longitudinal (ongoing) panel survey of changing views about participating in creative and cultural activities through the recent and ongoing crises, and beyond, the Cultural Participation Monitor.
Contents
Themes
While willingness to attend continues to trend upwards however, people do anticipate that their future in-person participation will be less frequent than pre-pandemic, though outdoor events are an exception, and they also intend to engage with cultural activities more locally (and inexpensively) than before.
Willingness to Attend
Willingness to attend in the wake of the pandemic has continued to recover since Spring 2022, with over half (52%) saying that they are ‘willing to attend’ (and 75% saying they ‘are happy to attend’ or ‘would consider attending with reservations’).
However, most people expect to attend art forms less in future than they did before the pandemic, rather than more, with the exception being outdoor events .
| Artform | Planning to attend LESS compared to pre-pandemic | Planning to attend MORE compared to pre-pandemic |
|---|---|---|
| Film | 34 | 11 |
| Live performances | 28 | 11 |
| Indoor galleries, museums and heritage sites | 21 | 12 |
| Outdoor parks, gardens and heritage sites | 14 | 20 |
Localness
20-24% of people also continue to expect to engage with arts and culture more locally, while only 9-12% anticipated attending further from home.
- This is likely influenced by the 41% of those working who said they worked from home all or most of the time in the past three months.
- 38% expect to all or most of the time over the next three months as well.
- 49% also prefer working from home all or most of the time.
Those worse off financially since the pandemic were more likely to stay closer to home for arts and culture, especially for outdoor arts and heritage.
This shift in behaviour looks to be here to stay, at least for the immediate term.
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Cost of Living Crisis
The vast majority of respondents say that they are worried about the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on them and their household, with a whopping 92% intending to scale back on entertainment spend outside of the home as a result, especially among mid-engaged, middle-aged and less urban groups.
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Everyday Creative Participation
While financial uncertainty might make people nervous about splashing out on more expensive arts and culture activities, over 40% of people say that pursuing creative hobbies in their own time is a key interest, a trend that skews towards younger participants and has increased through the pandemic.
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Ongoing Attitudes to Covid
Fears surrounding Covid-19 are softening, with half feeling 'back to normal' and fewer than 1 in 10 people expressing strong concern about catching the virus themselves, although over half still worry about vulnerable friends and family, while support for certain safety precautions remains high.
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Recent Engagement Trends
Recent arts, culture and heritage attendance has risen to an impressive 90% among respondents, with film and museums/heritage proving especially popular, particularly with families, while online arts activities continue to attract a younger and more ethnically diverse audience.
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Spend in Cultural Shops and Cafés
As audiences tighten their belts, they also plan to reduce their general spend in venues' shops and cafés, though the former looks to be harder hit than the latter, where younger and highly culturally engaged visitors express a willingness to pay slightly more for greener and more ethical alternatives.
