More Singaporeans Supported Arts and Cultural Activities in 2021

17 March 2023 – More Singaporeans attended arts and cultural events in 2021, according to the 2022 Singapore Cultural Statistics (SCS 2022), compared to the previous year. 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 by over 48% to almost 321,000 in 2021 as compared to 2020. In-person visitorship to national museums and heritage institutions also saw an increase by 7% to 2.2 million in 2021. There is cause for optimism amid some signs of the arts and culture sector’s early recovery, as a result of the return of audiences and enhanced support for the arts and culture sector through the Arts and Cultural Resilience Package of $75 million.

2. The SCS 2022 includes digital attendance data¹ which reflects audience participation at events accessed through electronic media or the Internet. Digital attendance in 2021 was mixed. Digital visitorship to national museums and heritage institutions more than doubled from 85 million in 2020 to 197 million in 2021. Digital attendance at non-ticketed arts and cultural events saw a drop of 33.9% from 2020. This dip in digital attendance corresponds to the gradual scaling up of physical arts and cultural activities and relaxation of limits on audience capacity in 2021. The decrease in digital attendance may also be due to competition with other leisure options such as overseas travel, as international borders gradually re-opened.  

3. 2021 continued to be a challenging year for the arts and culture sector in Singapore, with the sector having to adapt to changes in Safe Management Measures. Attendances showed recovery and an upward trend though remaining below pre-pandemic levels. 

4. Non-ticketed in-person attendance at arts and cultural events came in at 5.4 million, below pre-pandemic averages of 12.2 million (average of 2017 to 2019). Similarly, in-person visitorship to national museums and heritage institutions stood at 2.3 million in 2021, below the pre-pandemic average of 5.5 million (average of 2017 to 2019). 

5. The detailed SCS 2022 report can be found here [PDF, 466 KB] ↗ (opens in new tab).

6. Commenting on the findings, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Second Minister for Law, Edwin Tong said, “As the arts and cultural sector made inroads into the digital realm and engaged audiences in innovative ways, we are hopeful that the sector will emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the economic outlook remains challenging, and it will take time to recover to pre-pandemic levels, we will continue to work closely with our partners in the arts and cultural community to be resilient and future-ready. Thank you to all our practitioners and partners for their hard work and commitment through this challenging period.”

7. As Singapore emerges from COVID-19, we are seeing a resurgence of high quality and diverse offerings across many arts and cultural events. MCCY encourages Singaporeans to continue supporting our arts and culture, as a source of enjoyment, inspiration and pride for all of us.

MINISTRY OF CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND YOUTH
17 March 2023

About the Singapore Cultural Statistics

The Singapore Cultural Statistics has been published annually since 2008 and provides an update on the state of the arts and cultural landscape in Singapore. The statistics reported in this publication include data on arts and cultural performances, heritage events and museum exhibitions. 

¹Digital attendance data for attendances has been tracked from 2020. In the SCS 2021 report, only the People’s Association’s data included digital attendance. Digital data from more agencies have been introduced in the SCS 2022 report.