Audiences have not returned to the grandstands of cultural institutions in the way they did before the corona. The caution left over from the pandemic era, the abundance of entertainment options and the weakening economy are reflected in empty chairs in the auditoriums.
Audiences at two of Jyväskylä’s major cultural institutions, the Sinfonia and the City Theatre, are still lagging behind the pre-corona era. Emma Anttila, artistic director of the Sinfonia, says that since the autumn of 2019, the last year without the koruna, audience numbers are down by around 10-15%.
– But there is probably still a cautiousness in the public, which is emphasised by our customers, many of whom are over 55,” says Huhtaniemi.
Like all other forms of entertainment, theatre is facing increasingly fierce competition for audiences.
– We are fighting the most with the home sofa and streaming services, which people got used to even more during the pandemic. For us, they are much worse competitors than, say, other theaters. Pessimists think that there will never be a return to the old times, says Huhtaniemi.
In Sinfonia, however, sales have been steadily increasing throughout the fall. Back in August, the sales figures fell by a quarter from 2019, and now we are a tenth lower.
Both the symphony and the city theater have noticed that one phenomenon seems to have remained permanent from the corona era: similarly to trips abroad, concert and theater tickets are still often booked much later than before, even on the same day as the performance.
Time will tell the impact of the economic situation
At the same time that Corona has changed the behavior of the public, the majority of Finns have become poorer, as the general price level has risen and the same salary can buy fewer goods than before. So far, the symphony has not observed that people have reduced their attendance at concerts because of this, but \”time will tell\ Emma Anttila estimates. arvioi Emma Anttila.
According to Jouni Huhtaniemi, families who buy at least several tickets at once may reduce their visits to the theater, even though tickets in Jyväskylä are not very expensive compared to many other theaters.
Both Anttila and Huhtaniemi are confident in the future. According to Anttila, looking at this moment, it seems that the audience numbers at Sinfonia are still growing. Huhtaniemi refers to history and the fact that stage art has not disappeared anywhere, even though much more difficult times have been seen.
– I believe that theater will retain its appeal, as it has done for millennia. We just have to live in the present moment in terms of software supply as well as marketing and communication.