Tampere Theatre Festival brought together almost 90,000 theatre-goers
12.8.2019
Tampere Theatre Festival, the biggest theatre festival in the Nordic countries, brought together approximately 90,000 theatre-goers last week. The estimate includes all of the programmes and events related to the Festival. Tampere Theatre Festival was held from Monday to Sunday, 5–11 August.
– We reached all of our goals in regards to the number of visitors. We are extremely happy that Tampere Theatre Festival and theatre in general to this day seem to hold a strong position in the cultural offerings. The Festival holds its own against world class rock concerts and a number of other events. A big thank you is in order, then, to all of our Festival-goers, partners, and supporters, says the executive director of Tampere Theatre Festival Hanna Rosendahl.
The performances with ticket sales in the Main Programme drew a total of 8,461 theatre-goers. The Main Programme consisted of 37 shows, 14 of which were sold out, such as Medusa's Room by Q-Teatteri, Nora by Theatre Jurkka, N.E.G.R.O. by Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, and Hair, a joint production by Tampere University, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, and Tampere Conservatoire.
Hot Brown Honey took the cake as the most viewed performance in the Main Programme. Performed twice in the Main Auditorium of Tampere Hall, the show gathered an audience of 1,518 people. Coming in second and third were Medusa's Room with 772 viewers and Milo Rau's masterpiece La Reprise with 770 viewers respectively. The free street theatre performance of the Main Programme, Stories in the City, amassed a total of 1,250 people with their six performances.
The music-based Programme Tent celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. The Tent, a landmark of the Festival located in the Central Square of Tampere, gave shelter to 1,985 viewers. The Tent had ten shows spread throughout the week, five of which were sold out.
The Fringe Programmes piqued the public's interest
This year, there were 46 performances in the OFF Tampere -fringe programme. Among them were multiple summer theatres from the Pirkanmaa area, as well as Tampere Philharmonics and Tampere Hall with their free open air concert at Sorsapuisto Park. The diverse performances in the OFF Programme were visited by over 40,000 people.
On Thursday 8th August, The Great Nocturnal Happening took over the streets and parks of Tampere. There were over 200 events spread throughout the day, and a crowd of approximately 31,000 was mobilised.
Tampere Theatre Festival also celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Grand Hotel Tammer with two concerts during the Festival week. Saturday's brunch concert by Jorma Uotinen filled every last chair of the Banquet Hall.
All of the other events during the Festival, such as the Opening Ceremony, meetings and seminars, and exhibitions, were visited by over 6,000 people.
Finland Festivals publishes a comprehensive list of festival statistics and ratings – more accurate numbers from this year's Tampere Theatre Festival will be included.
The next Tampere Theatre Festival will take place 3–9 August 2020.
For more information
Executive director Hanna Rosendahl, 040 5944 600
Head of PR and Marketing Tiina Hurskainen, 040 865 5852