The latest survey conducted by the Évènements Attractions Québec (ÉAC) association among around a hundred of its members reveals that 51.5% of festivals and events recorded a deficit in 2023. A situation considered worrying given the overall increase in revenues.
These results were made public on Monday by Évènements Attractions Québec as part of its Financial portrait of Quebec festivals and events.
That year, in 2023, revenue sources increased overall by 92.9%. Whether it was revenue from activities such as ticketing or the sale of food and merchandise (42.4%), sponsorship revenue (25.3%) or subsidies (24.6%), all revenues were up.
The ÉAQ explains the deficit of the majority of the approximately 100 members of its association by the high inflation rate, which meant that in the summer of 2023, costs increased more quickly than revenues.
Programming-related costs, including artist fees, permit acquisition and production costs (28.7%), as well as site and facility management costs, including security (22.9%), administration costs (17.9%) and communication and promotion costs (10%), in total, costs increased by 116.2% compared to 2021.
The survey also reveals that among the festivals and events that recorded a surplus (48.5%), profits decreased by more than 50% on average. A situation that worries the general director of Events Attractions Québec, François-G Chevrier, who would like to set up a national summit of festivals and events with the Regroupement des évènements majeurs internationales (RÉMI) in order to find possible solutions.
“The sector needs to rethink its models by drawing inspiration from best practices, here and elsewhere,” he writes. “While increased support from public authorities seems essential, the solution cannot be simply to ask for more subsidies; it also involves identifying innovative and sustainable ways to support the development and growth of festivals. This will require close collaboration with public authorities, the private sector and civil society.”
The issue should be addressed at the annual convention of Events Attractions Quebec, which will take place in Lévis on November 5 and 6.