ANNUAL REVIEW 2019
Showmanship by BoonDog Theatre PHOTO: ANDY O’HARA
Circus Abyssinia: Ethiopian Dreams: Bibi and Bichu Ltd PHOTO: MUNDIALPHOTO
FOREWORD It is a pleasure to introduce 2019’s Brighton Fringe Annual Review. This year was the biggest yet, with 4,774 performances and 1,034 events over four weeks in May, all across Brighton & Hove. Having been involved for over 23 years, I take great pride in having seen Brighton Fringe grow from its humble beginnings to becoming the largest arts festival in England. The depth and diversity of participants that travel from all over the globe to perform in Brighton every May is staggering; ambition always unrivalled, calibre continually high, and audiences ever passionate. Over the years the Fringe has nurtured and sustained so many artists from all corners of the creative map, and this is thanks to the entire team; Patrons, Trustees, staff, volunteers, partners and supporters. 2019 was a triumph and I can’t wait for 2020, so thank you to everyone involved for making Brighton Fringe both a feat of community and a cornerstone of the international arts festival calendar.
Colin Matthews Chair
Miss Disney: Brighton Big Drag Pageant PHOTO: AYLA CARLI
INTRODUCTION This year has cemented Brighton Fringe as a deeply diverse international festival, with 34 countries represented from Austria to Australia, the Faroe Islands to France, Spain to Slovenia, sustaining precious relationships on an international scale; embracing all aspects of our continent of Europe and indeed the world. The arts are for everyone, and as an open-access festival it is profoundly important that we help overcome the limitations that are presented upon some audiences and participants. Our accessibility has once again improved, with 160 Freedom Season events taking place in 2019, a massive increase on the 16 accessible events that happened last year. 52% of Freedom Season events offered additional accessibility at the Fringe this year, for example many events were BSL interpreted, audio described, included touch tours, relaxed performances, and/or were captioned. The Freedom Season has allowed Brighton Fringe to be experienced by anyone, and bringing the arts to whoever would like to experience and participate in it is something we are continually proud of. As always, Brighton Fringe brings the community together, with Brighton always at the heart of the festival. We are honoured to help participants grow through performing here; in 2019, we granted £22,000 of financial support to Brighton Fringe participants, nurturing performers to reach their full potential and take their productions to the next level. Brighton Fringe also holds great importance in establishing acts on a global scale and winners of the Brighton Fringe International Touring Bursary in Association with the Pebble Trust, Queer Street Productions, were able to take ‘All I See is You’ to Australia for Sydney and Melbourne Fringes in September 2019 through our help. We were also pleased to support ‘The Canary and the Crow’ by Middle Child, the 2019 winners of the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence at Edinburgh Fringe. Looking forward to 2020, we hope to once again provide an opportunity for a sundry of creatives to escape into in a wholly unrestricted space. We anticipate another great expression of individuality, which enriches both our community and the world as a whole.
Julian Caddy CEO
Railed: Head First Acrobats PHOTO: MUNDIALPHOTO
2019 AT A GLANCE DISTRIBUTION 4 1,034 90,000
WEEKS
164 VENUES
233
EVENTS
4,774
BRIGHTON FRINGE BROCHURES DISTRIBUTED ACROSS SUSSEX, KENT AND LONDON
365
FAMILY GUIDES DISTRIBUTED ACROSS EAST AND WEST SUSSEX
PERFORMANCES
FREE EVENTS
WORLD PREMIERES
604,008
99,000
TOTAL ATTENDANCES
FRINGE CITY FOOTFALL
269,628
£2.2M+
TOTAL TICKETS SOLD
£20M
GENERATED FOR THE LOCAL ECONOMY
OVERALL TICKET VALUE
SOCIAL MEDIA
55.8K 15K 10.4K
70,000 10,000
INTERNATIONAL AND FREEDOM SEASONS GUIDES DISTRIBUTED ACROSS BRIGHTON & HOVE
WEB STATS 301,819 UNIQUE VISITORS TO BRIGHTONFRINGE.ORG
2,204,905 PAGE VIEWS
Fit Up Productions PHOTO: DANNY FITZPATRICK
CULTURAL & SOCIAL OUTCOMES AUDIENCE GROWTH
†
Direct engagement in Brighton Fringe is growing, with a 141% audience increase since 2014, demonstrating our commitment to extending the inclusivity and reach of the festival
Brighton Fringe is a truly international festival, presenting events from a diverse range of cultures. In 2019 Brighton Fringe hosted 144 international events from 35 countries
98% of the audience agreed that Brighton Fringe makes a positive contribution to Brighton’s image*
604K 573K 555K
Countries with events at Brighton Fringe 2019
535K
88% of the audience believe Brighton Fringe helps to enhance the sense of community in Brighton
18 bursaries were offered to participants in 2019
405K
250K
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
† Based on a combination of Brighton Fringe Box Office ticket sales, venue ticket sales and attendances at free events
Over £22,000 of financial support was given to participants in 2019 *Stats from our 2019 online audience survey
92% of the audience agreed that Brighton Fringe encourages greater participation in community life and events*
Guru Dudu’s Silent Disco Walking Tours: Guru Dudu Productions PHOTO: DAVID SMITH
BRIGHTON FRINGE 2019 BY CATEGORY CABARET & CIRCUS 79 events CHILDREN & YOUTH 65 events COMEDY 419 events DANCE & PHYSICAL THEATRE 32 events EVENTS & FILM 39 events LITERATURE & SPOKEN WORD 25 events
OUR AUDIENCES
All statistics, unless otherwise noted, are derived from our 2019 Audience Survey, conducted online.
WHO ARE THEY? 65+
13%
55-64
21%
45-54
25%
35-44
21%
25-34
13%
1% Other/ 20-24 Prefer not to say 16-19
4%
30% Male 69% Female
Age
35%
65%
Brighton Residents
0.6%
HOW DO THEY BEHAVE? 71% of visitors spent 1-3 days in the city
MUSIC 81 events NIGHTLIFE 14 events
Visitors
Average of 4 shows per audience member
THEATRE 252 events TOURS 22 events VISUAL ARTS 25 events WORKSHOPS 22 events
15% of visitors spent 4-7 days in the city 22% of our audience who stayed in Brighton paid for accommodation
18% of our audience spent over £60 per person on food, drink and travel
99,000
attended Fringe City and Family Picnics
OUR AUDIENCES Percentage of customers in each county.
Orkney 50%+
649%
Western Isles
1 - 5%
Shetland Islands
0.21 0.9%
Skye
Grampian
Highland
0.1 0.2%
SCOTLAND
Tayside Mull Fife
Central
0%
Islay
Lothian
NORTHERN IRELAND
Strathclyde
Northumberland
Dumfries & Galloway
Antrim
Tyrone Fermanagh
Borders
Arran
Deny
0.001 0.09%
Tyne & Wear Durham
Cumbria
ENGLAND
Down Armagh
Isle of Man
North Yorkshire West Yorkshire Greater Manchester
Lancashire Merseyside Anglesey Clwyd
WALES
Gwynedd
West Midlands Worcester
Cheshire
Dyfed
Glamorgan
Cornwall
WORLD MAP
Nottinghamshire
Leichestershire
Warwickshire
Bristol
Wiltshire
Norfolk Cambridgeshire
Suffolk
Hertford- Essex shire
Gloucester- Oxfordshire shire Gwent
Somerset Devon
Derbyshire
Staffordshire Shropshire
Powys Hereford
South Yorkshire Lincolnshire
Berkshire Hampshire
Greater London Surrey
Kent
Dorset Isle of Wight
West Sussex
East Sussex
Brighton & Hove
Northamptonshire Bedfordshire Buckinghamshire
2100: A Space Novelty: Cut Mustard Theatre PHOTO: DANNY FITZPATRICK
SERVICES OFFERED TO PARTICPANTS Including:
ARTS INDUSTRY LIAISON BURSARIES & FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FINANCE & BUDGETING ADVICE VENUE GUIDANCE & LIAISON PARTICIPATION & REGISTRATION SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS ONLINE RESOURCES & GUIDES COPYWRITING & MARKETING ADVICE REGULAR NEWSLETTERS & DEDICATED SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDS
OUR PARTICIPANTS
All statistics, unless otherwise noted, are derived from our 2019 Participants Survey, conducted online.
WHO ARE THEY? 45% Female
Age
65+
8%
55-64
15%
45-54
18%
35-44
22%
25-34
26%
45% Male
10% Other/ Prefer not to say
20-24 16-19
4%
93% live in the UK
1%
THEIR FRINGE EXPERIENCE 495 participants attended Fringe Academy workshops in 2019...
...a 27% increase on last year’s attendees
NEWS
36% of shows received reviews
70% of participants felt being part of Brighton Fringe was a valuable experience
Stealth Aspies PHOTO: SIOBHAN O’DRISCOLL
2019 FINANCE
INCOME
Sponsorship & Advertising: £121,695.05 Artist Registration: £122,978.36 Total Income:
£562,482.35
Box Office: £130,838.47 Charitable Grants: £136,182.19 Friends Scheme & Donations: £14,348.43 Public Funding: £34,990.00 Other Income: £1,449.85
EXPENDITURE Staffing Costs: £305,516.26 Marketing: £93,774.13 Box Office & Card Charges: £25,068.81 Events: £21,445.10 Arts Industry: £377.03
Total Expenditure:
£508,030.91
Office Overheads: £30,294.17 Professional Fees: £31,555.41 * The above figures are draft and unaudited
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS! Here at Brighton Fringe, we are immensely proud of our strong history of maintaining relationships with our sponsors and funders. We tailor each offer according to the partner to make the most of the creative aspects of each partnership. Don’t just take our word for it though, here is a testimonial from one of our longest-standing partners, The Pebble Trust, who have been supporting us for nine years now, as well as some words from Brighton Palace Pier about why they have enjoyed working with Brighton Fringe.
Brighton Fringe Principal Funder “As ever, Brighton Fringe 2019 brought the city alive and, with its diverse multitude of fantastic events, was the highlight of our year. Again, our International Touring Bursary enabled local talent to be seen on the world stage, with Brightonbased winner, ‘All I See Is You’ by Queer Street Productions, enjoying successful runs at Sydney and Melbourne Fringes.”
“It was a joy to welcome such a diverse range of visitors to the city in 2019 and to be part of Brighton Fringe. The spirit of the city is truly represented by the festival and long may it continue.” Anne Ackroyd, CEO, Brighton Palace Pier
Louise Arnell, The Pebble Trust
PATRONS: THE PEBBLE TRUST, RICHARD JORDAN, ALI & MARK BRAITHWAITE, MARY ALLEN PRINCIPAL FUNDER
FUNDERS
KEY MEDIA PARTNERS
Red: C0 M95 Y85 K0 White: C0 M0 Y0 K0
MEDIA PARTNERS
PARTNERS
Off White: C6 M2 Y2 K0
The Thistle Trust Chalk Cliff Trust Fitton Trust
Science Nature
Red: C0 M100 Y100 K0 Black: C60 M1 Y0 K100
Off White: C6 M2 Y2 K0
SUPPORTERS
REVIEW PARTNERS
FRONT: I’d Had Enough So I Killed Him: Sherise Strang PHOTO: DANNY FITZPATRICK BACK: Gals Aloud: TuckShop PHOTO: AYLA CARLI
BRIGHTON FRINGE LTD PIER WERKS 21-22 OLD STEINE BRIGHTON, BN1 1EL 01273 764900 info@brightonfringe.org www.brightonfringe.org
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