More than 3.4 million Australians attend live theatre, ballet or opera, led by people in Sydney and Melbourne

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Jul-26

New data from Roy Morgan shows that more than 3.4 million Australians (14.7% of Australians aged 14+) attend live theatre, ballet or opera performances in an average three months. The latest data for the year to March 2026 is unchanged from a year earlier, but above pre-COVID levels from 2019-20. Almost 3.1 million Australians (13.2%) attend live theatre in an average three months, unchanged from a year ago. Meanwhile, ballet and opera attendance reached 694,000 Australians, up 63,000 (+10%) from a year ago. The longer-term trend shows that the live performance market has largely recovered from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, at least in terms of overall attendance. Over the past two years, numbers have remained relatively stable, with the latest figure showing 200,000 more Australians 14+ attending live theatre, ballet or opera compared to pre-COVID level in March 2020. The rebound in numbers is partly due to the population increase seen since COVID-19. In fact, the percentage share of Australians attending live theatre, ballet or opera in the 12 months to March 2026 (14.7%) is down 0.7% points from the 12 months to March 2020 (15.4%).

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