The 2017 annual review demonstrates significant increases across ticket sales, attendance, and visitor spend.

The Adelaide Fringe Festival has doubled its value to South Australia’s economy over the past six years, according to its newly released annual review. The numbers of tickets sold, attendance, total economic expenditure, and visitor spend related to the Fringe have almost all increased twofold since 2011.

This year’s Fringe saw an increase of 39 percent in attendance figures compared to 2016, with 18,655 interstate and international visitors generating $24.3 million of new money to the state. The total estimated number of visitor bed nights rose to 80,853, with the total expenditure related to the Fringe a substantial $81.4 million, up almost 5 percent on last year’s spend of $77.6 million.

Adelaide Fringe Chair David Minear said the results were a sign of South Australians’ love for the festival and its growing appeal to interstate and overseas visitors. “This year’s success belongs to all who embrace what the Adelaide Fringe is about and have helped us to achieve this magical result,” he added.

Demonstrating an 80 percent increase in five years, the Fringe also delivered $16.2 million in box office revenue, most of which goes directly to its artists. Ticket sales were also up 9 percent to 658,360 and ticket attendance also rose to a considerable 2.52 million, an 11.5 percent increase on 2016.

Director and CEO Heather Croall said the Festival was proud to be the world’s second largest Fringe after Edinburgh. “The Adelaide Fringe is by far the highest ticket selling multi-art form festival in Australia, and to have another year of record ticket sales just goes to show that our Fringe artists and events continue to offer the quality, diversity and eccentricity it takes to keep the public’s love of our festival well and truly alive.”

Arts Minister Jack Snelling commended Adelaide Fringe on its ongoing excellence, stating “the Fringe plays an important role in fostering new and emerging artists, as well as providing a platform for those who are established.”

Thanks to an injection of $1 million in state government funding, the Festival is set to become the most affordable Fringe in Australia for artists to participate in. The funding will make it possible to abolish inside charges for artists on tickets under $35, and halve the inside charge on tickets over $35, meaning more money will go directly to artists.

Annual Review 2017