Complimentary events are used as a magnet to draw attention to ticketed acts, writes Hannah Tattersall.
Festivals are a highlight of summer but penny-pinching after the global financial crisis has forced organisers to offer more free events.
Sydney Festival director Lindy Hume says more free events have been added to the bill this year, with new events in Penrith and Parramatta, alongside big-ticket events such as Emmylou Harris and her Red Dirt Boys and Michigan born singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. A free event on Saturday, Summer Sounds: Los Lobos, drew 60,000 to the Domain while it is estimated about 200,000 attended the opening night of the festival.
Overall ticket prices are lower this year, with more smaller, $30 shows added to the line-up in a bid to make the festival as accessible as possible. But the $125 tickets to the Giacomo Variations featuring actor John Malkovich sold out quickly and an extra show was added.
“We sold more tickets last year but the tickets were ones that were more affordable so we took that lead and made a decision to try and lower the average ticket price,” Hume says.
She adds that the decision has paid off as Sydney Festival met its box office target on Monday.
Facebook has been a big driver: there had been at least 50,000 referrals from Facebook to the Sydney Festival Web Site.
Art Month Sydney kicks off on March 1 and will also feature fewer ticketed events than last year.
“I think an event has to be pretty special for Sydneysiders to fork out for it,” says Art Month board director Kym Elphinstone.
The Chinese new year festival begins in Sydney next week.
Last year’s event drew more than 600,000 to the city for the free parade and contributed about $18 million to the local economy, according to the City of Sydney.
Sydney Hotel Accommodation with Metro Hotels
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