Release date: 24/06/22

Adelaide Fringe can now plan to be bigger and better with the South Australian Government doubling its funding commitment with an additional $2 million per year.

The commitment of $8 million over four years will go towards interstate and overseas marketing, securing headline anchor events, and additional grants for artists. In another fulfilled Malinauskas Labor Government commitment, Arts Minister Andrea Michaels announced the funding today, coinciding with the posting of the 2022 Adelaide Fringe economic impact statement.

It’s been an extremely tough couple of years for the arts sector due to COVID-19 with the entire creative industry taking a huge financial hit.  The government’s funding boost is in line with the recommendations of a 2021 PwC report https://indaily.com.au/news/2021/08/06/report-argues-the-case-for-huge-boost-in-adelaide-fringe-funding/ that found for each additional $1 invested by the South Australia government, the Fringe could generate an additional $40 for the state’s economy.
The analysis found an additional $2 million of government funding would see gross expenditure supported by the Fringe reach over $160 million in 2025. Adelaide Fringe is the largest Fringe festival in the Southern Hemisphere and is internationally recognised as being second only to the Edinburgh Fringe.


Quotes

Attributable to Andrea Michaels

Labor established the Adelaide Fringe and Labor supported the Fringe to become an annual event.

The Fringe not only captures the public’s imagination with its celebration of so many art forms, it also brings thousands of additional dollars, jobs and tourists into South Australia. That is why the Malinauskas Labor Government has committed to $2 million additional funding per annum to further grow the Fringe and its economic impact.

It’s a beloved event that is vital to the cultural life of South Australians. Its ecosystem is made up of hundreds of venues, thousands of artists and is supported by an incredible number of South Australian patrons each year.

The additional funding will support the Fringe and the broader arts and cultural ecosystem in many ways. When you add the visual art components, the lighting and street performance activities, the free events and the range of outer metropolitan and regional events into the mix, there are so many ways to enjoy a Fringe experience beyond ticketed events.

Stronger ticket sales and more people in the streets means greater economic benefit for the State. The 2022 Fringe attracted interstate and international visitors resulting in millions of dollars of new money flowing into the State.

Attributable to Fringe Director and CEO Heather Croall

We are thrilled to have this additional funding, it will help the Fringe bounce back to our pre-COVID levels and continue to deliver benefits to the arts sector and South Australia.

With this funding, we will disperse grants to artists that we know will make a huge difference to their Fringe season.

We have set an ambitious target to sell a million tickets per year at Adelaide Fringe - a key factor in achieving that will be attracting more tourists to Fringe. This funding will allow Fringe to work on attracting more visitors, selling more tickets and delivering massive economic and cultural benefits to the State.