4114.0 - Attendance at Selected Cultural Venues and Events, Australia, 2005-06  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/01/2007   
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MEDIA RELEASE

January 25, 2007
Embargoed 11:30am (AEDT)
06/2007

Cultural activities a popular Australian pastime: ABS

In 2005-06, 85% of Australians (13.5 million) aged 15 years and over attended at least one cultural venue or event in the previous twelve months.

Going to the movies remains our most popular cultural activity and it's the younger generation who are going, says the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The vast majority (93%) of 15-17 year olds went to the movies at least once in 2005-06. Attendance rates tailed off as people grew older with cinema attendance dropping to 27% for those aged 75 years and over.

Other venues and events were more popular with people in older age groups. Some 46% of people aged 25-44 years attended a zoo or aquarium, while art galleries and classical music concerts were most popular with people aged 45-64 years (26% and 13% respectively).

In total, close to two in three Australians (65% or 10.4 million people aged 15 years and over) went to the movies at least once in 2005-06. Over one in five movie-goers (23%) went more than ten times.

After the movies the next most popular activity with Australians was going to the zoo or aquarium, with just over one in three (36%) people attending, followed by going to the library (34%), and the botanic gardens (34%).

Other survey findings include:
  • Popular music concerts were attended by 25% of Australians aged 15 years and over. In contrast 9% of Australians went to classical music concerts.
  • Museums and art galleries were equally popular (both 23%).
  • More people went to theatre performances (17%) and musicals and operas (16%) than dance performances (10%).

Females were more likely to go to cultural venues and events than males except for museums and popular music concerts. For dance performances, females comprised 66% of attendees, followed by musicals and operas (64%) and theatre performances (62%).

Residents in the Australian Capital Territory recorded the highest attendance rates for most cultural venues and events of all states and territories. However, Western Australian residents had the highest attendance rate at zoos and aquariums, and South Australian residents had the highest rate at other performing arts and libraries.

Further information is in Attendance at Cultural Venues and Events, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 4114.0).