Member Article

MIF 2013 a hit says report

An evaluation of Manchester International Festival 2013 has shown that it was the city’s most successful yet.

A report to Manchester City Council sets out how the Festival has overachieved its objectives, growing its international reputation, engaging a wide range of residents and increasing the level of public sector funding despite the challenging economic climate.

Headline figures include:

- An economic benefit of £38m, as calculated by independent research group Morris Hargreaves McIntyre.

- An increase in non-public funding, both in real terms (up from £5.3m in 2011 to £6.5m in 2013) and as a proportion (up from 47 per cent in 2011 to 54 per cent in 2013), enabling the Festival to grow without the Council increasing its funding.

- A 3.5 per cent increase in event attendance from 2011 to almost 250,000 people.

- 96 per cent of audience members surveyed rating the quality of events as either ‘excellent’ or good, with the same proportion saying they would be ‘very likely’ or ‘quite likely’ to attend the Festival in the future and recommend it to others.

- 30 per cent of the 2013 Festival programme was free with 50,000 people attending free events in addition to 125,000 visiting Festival Square. Some 14 events had tickets priced at £15 or under, while 5 per cent of all tickets on sale were offered to Greater Manchester residents on lower incomes at less than £12.

- 23 co-commissioning and co-producing partners.

- Regional, national and international media coverage of an equivalent advertising value, excluding online coverage, of £26 million.

- 405 volunteers donating more than 15,000 hours worth of work.

- 251 suppliers from the Manchester city region.

- 2450 active participants in the MIF Creative and MIF Learning programmes.

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: “This independent evaluation shows that MIF2013 has been a resounding success, building on the achievements of its predecessors and performing remarkably well.

“It is clear that MIF has established itself as one of the ingredients of what makes Manchester a world-class city, delivering significant economic, community and cultural benefits. The Festival has established itself as an inspiring event, of which any city would be proud, and we eagerly await its return.”

Alex Poots, CEO and Artistic Director of Manchester International Festival, said: “We would like to thank the artists and audiences that made MIF13 so special. We would also like to express our gratitude to Manchester City Council - their steadfast support is the bedrock of the Festival and it would not exist without their continued commitment.”

A full evaluation of MIF13 will be published later this year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .