Siae: shows still growing, over 4 billion
The entertainment business grows by 1.94%. Concerts leading sector, cinema, theatre and sport also doing well
3' min read
3' min read
Culture and entertainment, year after year, are proving to be an increasingly solid asset for the country's economy: if we add concerts, cinema, theatre, exhibitions, sports and fairs, we obtain a turnover of 4.02 billion, growing by 1.94% between 2023 and 2024. This is revealed by the latest edition, just presented, of the Siae Report, a veritable bible for those working in the sector. A study that certifies the excellent health of the sector, which has now left behind the terrible two-year Covid period and continues to grind out important numbers.
Increasing performances and spectators
In 2024 there were 3.37 million shows performed (+6.15% compared to 2023) and 253.5 million spectators (+2.25%). Against a slight decrease in average expenditure per spectator (€15.83, -0.3%), the overall figure indicates growth based on increased attendance. The average audience per show has decreased (75.2 spectators, -3.7%), a sign of a system that favours events on a smaller and more widespread scale, to the detriment of mass initiatives. A new balance, therefore, between quantity and density of fruition.
The offer remains strongly concentrated in the cinema sector, which accounts for 81% of total shows (2.7 million), but attracts only 29% of audiences and 13% of expenditure. In contrast, sport, with just 2% of events, attracts 15% of spectators (38.1 million) and generates 21% of expenditure. But it is live music that drives the entire economic system: concerts account for 2% of events, but involve 29 million spectators (11% of the total) and generate 25% of expenditure, the leading sector.
Trend confirmed in the first five months 2025
In detail, pop-rock concerts gather 83% of the audience, but genres such as jazz (+18.6%) and classical music are also growing, with a more even seasonal distribution. Theatre is confirmed as an important pillar: it registers +4.5% of shows and the highest increase in audiences in the macro-sector (+7.2% and 28.3 million admissions), while discos and dance halls, with 6% of the offer, attract 13% of spectators.
The lively trend in the cinema, theatre and music segments continued in the first five months of 2025, which, according to Siae, saw a growth of 0.8% in shows, 6.3% in spectators and 11.3% in audience expenditure.
