On opening weekend more than 90,000 people filled seats across hundreds of venues, contributing to $12.3 million and 550,000 tickets sold since program launch in December, with strong interstate and international demand driving early bookings.
They're strong results. But what matters more is what those numbers represent.
Every ticket is someone making a choice. A family trying something new, friends meeting after work, or someone taking a chance on a show they’ve never heard of.
Those choices matter even more when you look at what this season is offering. This year’s program includes 391 world premieres and 184 Australian premieres, with hundreds of new works being brought to life here, backed by audiences in real time.
Because Adelaide Fringe is open access, there is no central programming body deciding who gets a stage. Artists take the risk themselves. They back their work, book the venue and build their audience from the ground up.
When we talk about growth, the metric that matters most to us isn’t just total ticket sales. It’s the percentage of seats filled. When more of the house is sold, artists earn more. Their risk starts to pay off. Costs are covered sooner and, in many cases, they move into profit.
To us, that’s the real measure of a healthy festival.
It was a privilege to welcome media to Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute for my first Fringe opening as Acting CEO, marking its return as a key cultural hub in collaboration with Gluttony.
We also saw continued confidence in the future of the festival, with the South Australian Government announcing a further funding commitment.
On opening Saturday, our first Scroll Less, Fringe More activation with Wait Mate enabled hundreds of families to attend Fringe shows for just $5.
Our annual Giving Day also brought the community together to help more children and young people experience live performance, with final impact figures to be released soon.
Through a new partnership with the Seven Network and generous support from donors Bill Manos and Theo Maras, we also launched the Fringe Express bus, transporting students from Category 1–4 schools to attend Fringe.
When you step back, the scale of Fringe is built on individual decisions. Tens of thousands of people choosing to spend their time, attention and money on live performance.
The season is only just beginning, but audiences are showing up early, filling rooms and backing artists in a way that makes a real difference.
That’s why the Week One Award winners are always one of our favourite moments of the festival.
If you’re looking for somewhere to start, perhaps take a chance on a Weekly Award Winning show, or visit a venue you haven’t explored yet.
Happy Fringe!
They're strong results. But what matters more is what those numbers represent.
Every ticket is someone making a choice. A family trying something new, friends meeting after work, or someone taking a chance on a show they’ve never heard of.
Those choices matter even more when you look at what this season is offering. This year’s program includes 391 world premieres and 184 Australian premieres, with hundreds of new works being brought to life here, backed by audiences in real time.
Because Adelaide Fringe is open access, there is no central programming body deciding who gets a stage. Artists take the risk themselves. They back their work, book the venue and build their audience from the ground up.
When we talk about growth, the metric that matters most to us isn’t just total ticket sales. It’s the percentage of seats filled. When more of the house is sold, artists earn more. Their risk starts to pay off. Costs are covered sooner and, in many cases, they move into profit.
To us, that’s the real measure of a healthy festival.
It was a privilege to welcome media to Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute for my first Fringe opening as Acting CEO, marking its return as a key cultural hub in collaboration with Gluttony.
We also saw continued confidence in the future of the festival, with the South Australian Government announcing a further funding commitment.
On opening Saturday, our first Scroll Less, Fringe More activation with Wait Mate enabled hundreds of families to attend Fringe shows for just $5.
Our annual Giving Day also brought the community together to help more children and young people experience live performance, with final impact figures to be released soon.
Through a new partnership with the Seven Network and generous support from donors Bill Manos and Theo Maras, we also launched the Fringe Express bus, transporting students from Category 1–4 schools to attend Fringe.
When you step back, the scale of Fringe is built on individual decisions. Tens of thousands of people choosing to spend their time, attention and money on live performance.
The season is only just beginning, but audiences are showing up early, filling rooms and backing artists in a way that makes a real difference.
That’s why the Week One Award winners are always one of our favourite moments of the festival.
If you’re looking for somewhere to start, perhaps take a chance on a Weekly Award Winning show, or visit a venue you haven’t explored yet.
Happy Fringe!
