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17 March 2023
Highest attendance at arts and culture events, and museum visitorship since 2013, according to the 2020 Singapore Cultural Statistics (SCS).
More Singaporeans supported attended arts and cultural events in 2021, according to the 2022 Singapore Cultural Statistics (SCS), compared to the previous year.
Attendance at arts and culture events:
Non-ticketed in-person attendance at arts and cultural events increased from 4.6 million in 2020 to 5.4 million in 2021.
Ticketed attendance for live and digital performing arts events increased to 320,906, compared to 215,884 in 2020.
In-person visitorship to national museums and heritage institutions increased by 7% to 2.2 million in 2021.
The SCS 2022 includes digital attendance data which reflects audience participation on digital platforms - events accessed through electronic media or the Internet. There were mixed trends for digital attendance in 2021:
While digital visitorship to national museums and heritage institutions increased by more than double of that in 2020, from 85 million in 2020 to 197 million in 2021, overall, digital attendance at non-ticketed arts and cultural events decreased by 33.9% from 2020. This corresponds to the gradual scaling up of physical arts and cultural activities across our cultural venues and relaxation of limits on audience capacity in 2021. The decrease in digital attendance may reflect the onset of digital fatigue as well as competition with other leisure options such as overseas travel, as international borders gradually re-opened.
Non-ticketed attendance at arts and culture events
Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Non-Ticketed Attendance | 11,308,550 | 11,714,936 | 13,647,967 | 37,627,044 | 27,155,841 | |
Total Non-Ticketed In-Person Attendance | 11,308,550 | 11,714,936 | 13,647,967 | 4,689,348 | 5,398,263 | |
Total Non-Ticketed Digital Attendance | - | - | - | 32,937,696 | 21,757,578 | |
Arts Events^ | In-person | 3,011,342 | 3,728,969 | 3,725,939 | 1,997,363 | 2,905,195 |
Digital | - | - | - | 32,937,696 | 21,757,578 | |
Heritage Events^^ | In-person | 8,297,208 | 7.985,967 | 9,922,028 | 2,691,985 | 2,439,068 |
Source: National Arts Council^^^, People’s Association^^^^ and National Heritage Board
^ Arts events refer to attendance at performing arts events organised and supported by the National Arts Council, Esplanade and the People's Association. Arts events may be held live, accessed digitally through electronic media or the Internet e.g. a virtual exhibition, or be held in a hybrid format with both in-person and digital modes of access.
^^ Heritage events refer to attendance at outreach events organised by the National Heritage Board (NHB). These events include community outreach activities organised by NHB institutions and museums, including the Museum Outreach and the Singapore Heritage Fest. The figure excludes incidental viewership and events where attendance figures are unable to be determined. Non-ticketed heritage events may also include some performing arts elements.
^^^ From 2020 onwards, data from the National Arts Council includes non-ticketed in-person and digital attendance.
^^^^ From 2020 onwards, data from the People’s Association includes amalgamated non-ticketed in-person and digital attendance. Data in the table may not add up to the total due to amalgamated data.
Ticketed attendance at performing arts events^
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1,911,266 | 2,194,844 | 1,991,950 | 215,884 | 320,906 |
Source: National Arts Council and People’s Association^^
Performing Arts refer to folk, traditional, classical and contemporary forms of dance, music (pop/rock concerts included) and theatre. Performing arts events may be held live, accessed digitally through electronic media or the Internet e.g. live-streamed performances or be held in a hybrid format with both in-person and digital modes of access. Events such as book launches, competitions, conferences, masterclasses, workshops etc are excluded.
^ Ticketed attendance refers to attendance at performing arts events that require a ticket for entry. It includes tickets sold and complimentary tickets issued.
^^ From 2020 onwards, data from the National Arts Council and People’s Association for 2020 and 2021 includes amalgamated ticketed in-person and digital attendance. Source: National Arts Council and People’s Association (data from People’s Association includes ticketed digital attendance)
Museum roundtable visitorship
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
8,588,120 | 8,277,999 | 9,594,098 | 3,053,399 | 3,434,482 |
Source: National Heritage Board
Total Museums Roundtable visitorship includes visitorship to both public and private museums and galleries.
Visitorship to national museums and heritage institutions
Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Visitorship | 5,416,324 | 5,386,651 | 5,777,502 | 87,948,544 | 200,189,807 | |
Total In-Person Visitorship | 5,416,324 | 5,386,651 | 5,777,502 | 2,099,509 | 2,251,174 | |
Total Digital Visitorship | - | - | - | 85,849,035 | 197,938,633 | |
Source: National Heritage Board, National Library Board, Singapore Art Museum and National Gallery Singapore
* Digital visitorship to National Museums and Heritage Institutions is measured as unique reach unless otherwise indicated. The breakdown can be found in the full SCS 2022 report.
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