The Singapore Cultural Statistics 2017 noted that 2016 witnessed a record high attendance of 9.2 million people to free arts and culture events. For ticketed arts events though, attendance numbers have dropped.
Our Head of School of Creative Industries, Audrey Wong, was sought out by The Straits Times for her opinion on the matter. Beyond noting that there are simply too many events in Singapore at any one time, Audrey also cited weak branding and marketing of events as possible contributors to decrease in ticketed attendance.
Moving forward, Audrey suggested that organisers need “a more sophisticated grasp” of why people attend events, and should work towards developing specific events to engage targeted audiences, as opposed to generic festivals that cater to the masses
