The COVID-19 pandemic has left its mark on the performing arts sector in 2020.
The Observatory of Culture and Communications of the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) reports that after reaching 8.7 million tickets to theaters in 2019, a peak since the start of the survey in 2004, attendance fell 84% in 2020, reaching 1.4 million admissions.
In 2019, the Institute observed growth in indoor admissions for all disciplines, with the exception of dance. This increase was particularly strong for French songs, by 32%, and English, by 21%.
However, in 2020, there were tumbles in these two disciplines of 86% and 91%, respectively.
The Observatory also reports that Quebec shows attracted 6.5 million spectators in 2019, a new high for this survey. In 2020, despite a decline of 82%, the market share of Quebec shows increased to 91% of performances, 81% of attendance and 73% of ticketing revenues, three new heights.
Cinemas were among the companies most affected by the health crisis in 2020. The number of admissions to cinemas was down 77% compared to the previous year.
In 2019, seven regions of Quebec had reached a new high for attendance in theaters and only three regions had seen their attendance drop. In 2020, assistance was down for all regions, fluctuating between a 76% drop in Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean and an 88% drop in the Gaspésie – Îles-de-la-Madeleine region. .
In 2020, shows offered in the Montreal and Quebec City regions accounted for 57% of admissions to all venues in Quebec, the lowest proportion since the start of the survey in 2004. The earlier venues closure in the central regions during the second wave in the fall of 2020 and the absence of foreign artists on the stages of Quebec could partly explain this result, according to the Observatory.