The first comprehensive study of how Englands population spends its leisure time has revealed that more than nine out of ten adults have engaged in at least one form of cultural or sporting opportunity during the past twelve months. 67% of people attended an arts event, 53% participated in the arts, 42% attended museums or galleries, and 7% volunteered in the cultural and sporting sectors. The survey, Taking Part, was commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in partnership with English Heritage, Arts Council England, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and Sport England.
It gathered information from more than 28,000 adults aged 16 and above living in England. Described as setting a baseline for levels of engagement, and due to be repeated annually, the research aims to enable ongoing and robust measurement of the DCMS Public Service Agreement on increasing participation and attendance amongst priority groups, as well as providing data comparable across different sectors. The report documents information collected about the frequency of participation and attendance at the arts, museums and galleries, libraries, archives, heritage and sport, and examines the reasons why people do and do not participate or attend. It also explores a range of other issues, such as the impact of engaging with culture as a child, the relationship between educational attainment and engagement with the arts, and the extent of online access to culture and sport. As well as the more predictable findings that wealthier people are more like to be cultural consumers than poorer ones, and that those from white ethnic backgrounds attend the arts more often than other ethnic groups the research found that rural inhabitants are more likely to attend and participate in arts events than their urban counterparts, and that people from the South West and South East were most likely to get involved in the arts, while those from the North East are least likely to attend. The most frequently stated reason for not attending or participating was not really interested, cited by over 30% of those surveyed. The full survey report is on the DCMS website.
Published: 21-05-2007