Buxton Festival Fringe 2016 contributed nearly £400,000 to the local economy even though it was slightly smaller than the 2015 event.
Figures from an audience survey show that visitors to the Fringe spent £325,000 on food, accommodation and tickets. Performers at the 152 shows spent an estimated £48,000 during their stay.
Eighty-six per cent of people who responded to the survey gave the Fringe a score of four or five out of five. Nineteen per cent chose to see six or more shows. One in five people was attending the Fringe for the first time.
Half of the artists who responded to the entrants’ survey were attending other festivals including Edinburgh and even Vancouver.
The estimated total audience figure, including free events, was more than 16,000. Average attendance for ticketed events was 29.
Fringe chair Keith Savage commented, “Buxton Fringe 2016 seemed like the most enjoyable of events, but when you are caught up in the middle of something it’s possible to misread the mood. So it’s really important that hundreds of people from all over the country took the time and trouble to tell us how good their Fringe experience was.”
Buxton Fringe 2017 will be held from 5 until 23 July. The Fringe web site will open for entries on 1 December.