More and more Italians attend live events. The SIAE 2024 Report highlights a record attendance, confirming the centrality of concerts. According to the Report, in 2024 in Italy there were over 253 million spectators for live entertainment events. Concerts remain the economic heart of the sector, but it is the theater that has seen the greatest growth in spectators. This is not just a recovery, but an interesting signal: despite the spread of streaming platforms, Italians are increasingly returning to seeking live experiences.
How many Italians go to the theater: the statistics
Of all the sectors of entertainment, the theater is the one which has recorded the most significant increase in audiences.
In 2024:
- 28.2 million viewers (+7.2%)
- over 153,000 shows (+4.5%)
- 578.6 million euros spent (+7%)
These numbers indicate not only a recovery, but a real relaunch phase. If prose remains the most traditional form, musicals and more “hybrid” shows are attracting a new, often younger audience. At the same time, historical forms such as puppetry (puppets and marionettes) maintain a significant presence especially in family events and festivals. Going to the theater does not only mean attending a drama show, but also:
- lyrical
- ballet
- musical
- various art
- circus
- puppets and marionettes
Furthermore, many theater organizations are investing in flexible subscriptions, discounted tickets for young people, festivals and thematic reviews, collateral activities such as meetings and workshops: initiatives that help make theater perceived less and less as an elitist experience and more accessible both in terms of costs and content to different audiences.
However, the increase in spectators tells us above all about the cultural value of the theatre. Theatre, in fact, offers a shared experience that streaming cannot replicate: the physical presence of the actors and the collective dimension of the show. And the theatre, for centuries, has been precisely this: a place where stories, emotions and people meet at the same time and in the same space.
The numbers of Italians at concerts
While theater grows more, live music remains the economic heart of the sector.
In 2024:
- 65,515 concerts (+6.3%)
- 29 million viewers (+2.9%)
- 989.3 million euros spent (+1.4%)
These increases are also due to the fact that alongside large events in stadiums, the offer of medium and small-sized concerts has grown, especially in territories that were marginal until recently, also generating a positive effect on tourism and the local economy. But pop, rock and pop music are always the genres that dominate, representing 59% of the shows and attracting 83% of the public.
If traditionally the summer was the key period (45% of concerts between June and September), 2024 showed an increase in the number of concerts (+14€%) but above all in the audience (+34%) in the cold months. A sign that live music is becoming more and more distributed throughout the year.
Italians’ interest in cinema
Cinema shows more limited growth, but with interesting signs. In 2024:
- 2.74 million screenings (+6.4%)
- 73.5 million viewers (-0.8%)
- 539.5 million euros spent (+0.6%)
At first glance the audience seems stable, but the most relevant data concerns those who go to the cinema: surprisingly it is the younger audience that is driving the recovery (+13% among 15-24 year olds and even +31% among those under 14). Animated films and fantasy blockbusters are in fact managing to bring more and more digital natives back into theaters.
All these percentages, although different from each other, are all fragments of the same evolution: the live show has not been replaced by digital. Indeed, looking at the numbers it seems that we are moving towards a new phase of entertainment in which streaming and live coexist, thanks also to live shows that are adapting to create offers that are always in line with the times.
