Barcelona's 30 theater venues broke records in 2023 with 2.8 million spectators, a 60% occupancy rate, and over 86 million in revenue, according to ACN. The figure represents a 1% increase in audience and a 31% increase in revenue compared to 2011, the year the first record was broken. According to data from the Association of Theater Companies of Catalonia (ADETCA), the most-watched productions are those by Mago Pop, Improshow, The Producers, L'alegria que passa, and FitzRoy, all in private venues.
The president of ADETCA, Isabel Vidal, stated that they are "exultant" because 2023 has been the best year in the history of theater in Catalonia. The association has data since 1993, but its president expressed conviction that in previous years, the 2.8 million spectators had never been reached. For Vidal, last year's program generated confidence in the audience: "The spectator who chooses to go to the theater finds quality and artistic category on the stages."
The Christmas campaign was especially important in achieving these record figures. "We started in September with data that worried us a bit, but, on the other hand, in the final months of the year we made a spectacular comeback," Vidal noted.
Likewise, venues with less than 200 spectators also achieved their best historical data this 2023. Specifically, they registered an attendance of over 305,400 spectators and earned almost 4 million euros. "It is remarkable that growth has occurred in both large and small venues," celebrated the Councilor for Culture and Creative Industries of the Barcelona City Council, Xavier Marcé.
Record figures that encourage the sector to face an important date, next Saturday, March 16, a day designated to fill theater venues throughout Catalonia with the initiative Cap butaca buida. The goal is to break a record for theater spectators in one day, with an eye towards establishing a future Diada Nacional del Teatre.