Cultural engagement in Scotland 2023: Scottish Household Survey findings

Attendance at cultural events or places (2023)

In 2023, 76% of adults attended a cultural event or place of culture in the last 12 months

When cinema was excluded, attendance was lower at 69%

Cinema was the most common event or place to attend: 50% of adults went to the cinema at least once in the last 12 months

Under a quarter (24%) had not attended any cultural event or place in the last 12 months

Those who visited the library did so most frequently:

• 16% visited at least once a week
• 37% visited less often than once a week, but at least once a month

In 2023, 76% of adults had attended^[9] a cultural event or place of culture (an increase from 74% in 2022). When excluding cinema^[10], the most common cultural event to attend, 69% of adults had attended a cultural event or place of culture in the last year. This has increased from 65% in 2022 (Table 9.2 in supporting excel workbook).

Figure 3 shows that in 2023 half of respondents (50%) had been to the cinema in the last 12 months making this the most common type of cultural attendance. The next most common types of cultural attendance were attendance at live music events (36%) and visits to historic places (33%), followed by museums and theatres (both 30%).

Whilst attendance is widespread it is not uniform and there are several events or places that very small percentages of the population attend. For example, 2023 data show the lowest levels of attendance from the list provided were at archive or record offices (1%) and the opera (2%). Under a quarter of adults (24%) had not attended or visited a cultural event or place of culture in the last 12 months.

Attendance at individual events and places in 2023 was either higher than in 2022 or it maintained over this period (Table 9.2 in supporting excel workbook). The biggest increase in attendance between 2022 and 2023 was for theatres (up six percentage points) and live music events (up five percentage points).

2023 data show that people visiting the library (including mobile and online) did so more frequently than those attending other cultural events or visiting other places of culture. Sixteen percent had visited a library at least once a week, and over one third of adults visited at least once a month (37%) (Table 4 in Annex D and Table 9.17 in supporting excel workbook).

Thirteen percent of respondents who had attended the cinema within the past 12 months went at least once a month. The vast majority of those who had attended cultural events or had visited places of culture did so less often than once a month but within the last 12 months.

Attendance at cultural events or places by Local Authority

Seventy-six percent of adults in Scotland attended a cultural event or place in 2023 when including cinema although levels of cultural attendance varied between Local Authorities (Figure 4[11] and Table 9.2 in supporting excel workbook).

Stirling and Edinburgh, City of had the highest percentage of adults who attended a cultural event or place of culture in 2023 (both 87%) followed by East Dunbartonshire (86%); East Renfrewshire and East Lothian (both 84%). The percentage of adults who attended a cultural event or place in 2023 was lowest in Na h-Eileanan Siar (59%) followed by Moray (60%) (Figure 4 and Table 9.2 in the supporting excel workbook).

When cinema was excluded, attendance was highest in Stirling (84%); East Dunbartonshire (83%); Edinburgh, City of and East Renfrewshire (both 80%). Attendance when excluding cinema was lowest in Moray (52%); Na h-Eileanan (54%) and West Lothian (57%).

Attendance at cultural events or places by population subgroup

Trends at the national level are useful for summarising what is happening overall in Scotland. However, they mask differences between subgroups of the population. This section of the report looks at how cultural attendance varies across different population subgroups^[13].

Figure 5 and Figure 6 shows that in 2023 attendance at cultural events or places of culture is higher for:

• Adults with a degree or professional qualification
• Younger adults
• Adults with a net annual household income of £30,001 or more
• Adults with no disability
• Adults in employment
• Adults living in the 20% least deprived areas
• Adults who are gay, lesbian or bisexual
• Women

Figure 5: Differences in attendance at cultural events or places by population subgroup part 1 (2023)

Highest level of qualification

Attendance higher among adults with a degree or professional qualification and lowest for those with no qualifications.

Qualifications not known 32%
No qualifications 45%
Other qualifications 48%
O/Standard grade or equivalent 67%
Higher/A-level or equivalent 83%
HNC/HND or equivalent 84%
Degree or professional 90%

Pattern holds when cinema is excluded.

Age

Younger age groups more likely to have attended a cultural event or place than older age groups.

16-24 86%
25-34 84%
35-44 85%
45-59 79%
60-74 69%
75+ 52%

Difference smaller when cinema is excluded: 72% of 16-24 vs 50% of 75+

Net annual household income

Attendance highest for those with the highest net annual household income (£30,001 or more) and lowest for an income up to £10, 000).

Unknown or low 59%
£30, 001 or more 85%
£20,001 to £30,000 72%
£10,001 to £20,000 59%
Up to £10,000 56%

A similar pattern was seen when cinema was excluded

Disability

Attendance was significantly lower amongst adults with a disability than those without a disability.

82% Non-disabled
60% Disabled

Slightly smaller difference is seen when cinema is excluded: 54% of disabled adults vs 75% of non-disabled adults.

Figure 6: Differences in attendance at cultural events or places by population subgroup part 2 (2023)

Economic status

Adults in employment far more likely to attend cultural events or places than adults permanently retired from work.

63% permanently retired from work
85% in employment

Difference smaller when cinema is excluded: 78% of adults in employment vs 60% of adults permanently retired from work.

Deprivation

Attendance decreased as deprivation, measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD 2020), increased.

Quintile 5 (20% least deprived) 86%
Quintile 4 82%
Quintile 3 75%
Quintile 2 73%
Quintile 1 (20% most deprived) 65%

When cinema was excluded the difference between 20% most and least deprived was even greater (56% vs 82%).

Sexual orientation

Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults more likely to attend cultural events or places compared to heterosexual adults.

93% Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual
76% Heterosexual/Straight

When cinema was excluded, difference was even bigger: 89% of gay, lesbian and bisexual adults vs 69% heterosexual adults.

Sex

Women report higher levels of attendance than men.

78% Women
75% Men

Pattern holds when cinema is excluded.

Highest level of qualification

As shown in Figure 5, 2023 data shows attendance at cultural events or places declined with the level of qualifications. Adults with a degree or professional qualification were more likely to attend cultural events or visit places of culture than those with no qualifications (90% compared to 45%). A similar pattern was seen when cinema is excluded (86% vs 39%) (Figure 5 and Table 9.5 in supporting excel workbook).

Whilst there is a gap in participation between adults with a degree or professional qualification and adults with no qualifications the gap in attendance was a lot bigger.

As with the overall figure, attendance was higher for adults with a degree or professional qualification across al the individual events or places compared to adults with no qualifications (Table 9.5 in supporting excel workbook). The biggest difference in attendance could be seen for:

• historic places (51% vs 10%),
• museums (48% vs 9%) and
• live music events (49% vs 13%).

Age

In 2023, younger age groups were noticeably more likely to have attended a cultural event or visited places of culture in the last 12 months than older age groups (Figure 5).

Eighty-six percent of adults aged 16 to 24 had attended a cultural event or place of culture in the last 12 months compared to 52% of adults aged 75 or over. When cinema is removed the difference is smaller (72% and 50% respectively) (Figure 5 and Table 9.4 in supporting excel workbook).

Patterns of attendance varied across most individual events and places between age groups in 2023 (Table 9.4 in supporting excel workbook). The biggest difference in attendance between adults aged between 16 to 24 and adults aged 75 and over was for:

• cinema (76% vs 15%),
• live music events (46% vs 11%) and
• museum (33% vs 16%).

Whilst adults aged 16 to 24 were more likely to attend most of the individual events or places, adults aged 75 and over were more likely than adults aged between 16 and 24 to attend the:

• classical music performances (6% vs 3%) and
• opera (2% vs 1%).

Net annual household income^[14]

In 2023, as shown in Figure 5, cultural attendance increased as net annual household income increased in 2023. Attendance was highest among households with a net annual household income of £30,001 and over and lowest for adults with a net annual household income of up to £10,000 (85% compared to 56%). When cinema is excluded the difference was slightly smaller (77% and 50%) (Figure 5 and Table 9.7 in supporting excel workbook).

These patterns are consistent with the differences observed for cultural participation although the gap in attendance between adults with a net annual household income of £30,001 or more and those with a net annual household income of up to £10,000 is larger than for participation.

Attendance was higher across most individual events or places amongst those with a household income of £30,001 and over (Table 9.7 in supporting excel workbook). The biggest differences between those with a household income of over £30,001 and up to £10,000 can be seen for:

• cinema (61% vs 29%),
• live music events (44% vs 19%) and
• historic places (40% vs 17%).

However, levels of attendance were the same for adults with a household income of £30,001 and over and up to £10,000 at:

• library and
• archive or records office.

Disability^[15]

Figure 5 shows cultural attendance was lower amongst adults with a disability compared to adults without a disability (60% compared to 82%) in 2023. When cinema is excluded, the difference was slightly smaller (54% compared to 75%) (Figure 5 and Table 9.8 in supporting excel workbook).

The gap in attendance between disabled adults and non-disabled adults was significantly larger than the gap seen for participation.

Disabled adults were less likely to attend all the individual events or places than non-disabled adults apart from the opera and archive or records office where attendance was the same (Table 9.8 in supporting excel workbook). The biggest difference in attendance between disabled adults and non-disabled adults could be seen for:

• cinema (32% vs 57%).

This is despite going to the cinema being the most frequently attended activity for those with a disability.

Other large differences were seen for:

• live music events (22% vs 41%),
• historic places (22% vs 37%) and
• museum (20% vs 34%).

Economic status

In 2023, adults in employment were far more likely to attend cultural events or places than adults permanently retired from work (85% compared to 63%) (Figure 6). The difference in attendance was smaller when cinema was excluded: 78% of adults in employment compared to 60% of adults permanently retired from work (Figure 6 and Table 9.14 in supporting excel workbook).

Attendance in individual cultural events or places varied by economic status (Table 9.14 in supporting excel workbook). The biggest differences between adults who were employed and adults who were permanently retired from work were seen for:

• cinema (62% compared to 26%),
• live music events (47% compared to 21%),
• historic places (39% compared to 27%) and
• museum (35% compared to 23%).

Deprivation (measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020)

As shown in Figure 6, levels of cultural attendance in 2023 increased as deprivation, measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD 2020), decreased. Rates of cultural attendance were lowest for adults living in the 20% most deprived areas and highest in the 20% least deprived areas (65% compared with 86%). When cinema is excluded this difference was greater (56% and 82% respectively) (Figure 6 and Table 9.6 in supporting excel workbook).

Adults living in the 20% least deprived areas were more likely to have attended all individual cultural events or places in the last year, than those living in the 20% most deprived areas (Table 9.6 in supporting excel workbook). The biggest difference in attendance was for

• theatre (45% vs 20%),
• historic places (45% vs 20%) and
• museum (42% vs 22%).

Sexual orientation

In 2023, gay, lesbian, and bisexual adults were more likely to attend cultural events or places compared to heterosexual adults (93% compared to 76%) (Figure 6). When cinema was excluded, difference was even bigger (89% compared to 69%) (Figure 6 and Table 9.11 in supporting excel workbook).

Adults who were gay, lesbian and bisexual were more likely to attend a number of individual cultural events or places than adults who were heterosexual / straight (Table 9.11 in supporting excel workbook). The biggest differences were seen for:

• cinema (77% compared to 50%),
• art gallery (44% vs 20%) and
• museum (51% vs 30%).

Sex^[16]

Unlike in 2022, women were more likely than men to attend or visit a cultural event or place in the last 12 months, both including and excluding cinema, in 2023 (Figure 6).

Seventy-eight percent of women attended a cultural event or place compared to 75% of men, when cinema was included. When cinema was excluded, the pattern was the same (71% and 67% respectively) (Table 9.3 in supporting excel workbook and Figure 6).

Women were also more likely to participate in cultural activities than men in 2023 and this gap was significantly larger than the gap seen between women and men in attendance at cultural events or places.

Women were either just as likely to attend each of the individual events or places in 2023 than men or more likely (Table 9.3 in supporting excel workbook). The biggest differences between women and men could be seen for attendance at the:

• theatre (35% vs 24%),
• library (23% vs 18%) and
• dance shows or events (10% vs 5%).

For further breakdowns on attendance at cultural events or places see the supporting excel workbooks to this report.

Aspirations of attendance at cultural events and places

Respondents who had attended a cultural event or place in the last 12 months were asked whether there were any events or places that they would like to attend more often, or because they had not done so in the last 12 months, Respondents who had not reported attending any cultural events or places in the last 12 months were also asked what events or places they would like to attend.

In 2023, of those who had already attended cultural events or places in the last 12 months, 40% selected one or more events or places that they would like to go to, as they had not been before, or they would like to go more often (Table 9.18 in supporting excel workbook). Just under one in five (19%) wanted to attend a live music event more often or to go to a live music event. Fourteen percent said they would like to go to the cinema.

Of those who had not attended any cultural events or places in the last 12 months, under a third (27%) selected one or more events or places that they would like to go to, as they had not been before. The majority responded ‘none’ (73%) (Table 9.19 in supporting excel workbook). Thirteen percent said they would like to go to the cinema, 11% would like to attend a live music event and 8% would like to go the theatre.

Therefore, people who had already attended cultural events and places in the last 12 months were more likely to aspire to attend events or places than those who had not attended any in the last 12 months.

Factors limiting or preventing attendance at cultural events and places^[17]

Respondent were asked what, if anything, limits or prevents people attending cultural events and places. The question was asked of all adults, both those who had attended a cultural event or place in the last 12 months and those who had not.

In 2023, the most frequently cited factors limiting or preventing people from attending cultural events and places were ‘lack of time’ (14%) followed by ‘cost of tickets’ (12%). The percentage of people that cited ‘lack of time’ has decreased from 16% in 2022, whilst the percentage of people that cited ‘cost of tickets’ as a barrier has maintained over this period (Table 9.20 in supporting excel workbook).

Recent qualitative research (2024) found that there are a range of factors that can impact on someone’s ability to do the things that they would like to do in their free time. This expands what we know from the SHS. Respondents described issues relating to their personal perceptions and circumstances, accessibility issues, and wider social and structural issues that may limit opportunities available to them.