As the Adelaide Fringe crosses the halfway mark of the 2023 season, the iconic South Australian event is on track to be the first festival in Australia ever to sell one million tickets.
Having sold just over 700,000 tickets in the first 19 days of the festival, Adelaide Fringe is on a strong trajectory to sell an additional 300,000 over the final 12 days of Fringe.
Lovers of Adelaide Fringe and proud South Australians have come out in droves keen to support the one-month long event. Adelaide Fringe is famed for lowering costs to artists and putting the majority of the box office each season into the pockets of artists and venues.
Making sure artists have a fruitful season is a priority for the organisers of Adelaide Fringe. The outcome of one million tickets sold is not just an accolade, it also means more money in the pockets of the artists in the Fringe.
“Hitting the incredible target of one million tickets sold this year would be a massive achievement for the state of South Australia; no other festival or event in the country has ever reached that milestone,” said Director and CEO of Adelaide Fringe, Heather Croall.
“It’s incredible to see people championing and supporting Adelaide Fringe each year, this year in particular we have witnessed a real sense of pride from the community in being able to claim that we have the biggest festival in Australia right here in SA.”
“I encourage all Fringe goers to go and see one extra show this year or head out with friends and family to see a show as a group, that’s the strategy each of us need to adopt if we are to hit the goal of one million tickets sold this year,” said Heather.
Adelaide Fringe’s best ever selling year was 2020 where an impressive 853,419 tickets were sold in total. Should Fringe hit the one million ticket goal this would see an almost 18% increase on the highest selling year on record.
The outcomes of selling one million tickets are considerable in the context of economic impact also, with the 2020 season resulting in more than $96.7 million dollars in gross economic expenditure in the State. We can only anticipate that the sale of one million tickets would see far greater results for the economy as well.
Audiences can play a part in Adelaide Fringe reaching this target by:
- seeing a show mid-week (its cheaper!)
- heading out with a group of mates to get a discount with the Group 6+ ticket type
- book a show celebrating, featuring or produced by a powerhouse female artist
Adelaide Fringe is Australia’s biggest arts festival. The 31-day event spans across the state, with eclectic and vibrant events that include cabaret, theatre, comedy, circus, music, visual arts, workshops and so much more.
Adelaide Fringe was born in 1960 and has grown year on year with a phenomenal 727,567 tickets sold in 2022 and the average Fringe-goer attending 4.6 shows.
Adelaide Fringe is a not-for-profit, open access festival. This means that anyone can register an event in Adelaide Fringe, artists choose Fringe, not the other way around – from a multicast circus, to a one-person show.
Adelaide Fringe continues to Sunday 19 March 2023. For more information and full program, visit: www.adelaidefringe.com.au for details.
Image: Adelaide Fringe 2022 – photo by Samuel Graves