Hamburg even more diverse and attractive city of culture, survey finds

"Visitors to cultural institutions perceived Hamburg as a diverse and attractive city of culture," said Brosda. This shows that many residents are enthusiastic about what museums, theatres and concert halls have to offer. A large share of tourists (42 per cent) come to Hamburg because of its cultural offers. Around 13,600 visitors to 25 public and four private cultural institutions were interviewed in 2023, while over 1,000 residents took part in the online survey of non-visitors. The cultural authorities and institutions now want to take concrete measures based on the results.

"Culture in Hamburg is more than just the Elbphilharmonie concert hall and musicals," said Rolf Strittmatter, Managing Director of Hamburg Marketing. The City of Hamburg is known worldwide for its diverse cultural offers and more than 80 per cent of visitors surveyed concur with this view. Visitors to Hamburg's cultural institutions are predominantly female (61 per cent), 51 years old on average, well educated (64 per cent), mostly employed (57 per cent) or retired (27 per cent) and have a medium (54 per cent) to high income (31 per cent). Almost half of visitors come from Hamburg, 17 per cent from the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, 32 per cent are tourists and 5 per cent come from abroad. 

Around a quarter of respondents went to a mix of theatre and ballet performances, art exhibitions, readings or poetry slams. However, 74 per cent visit cultural venues on a regular basis. Some 13 per cent of respondents are only interested in high culture, while 18 per cent only attend pop culture events. Some 38 per cent of respondents said that they do not or rarely visit cultural institutions. They are on average slightly younger than visitors to cultural venues, slightly less educated and have lower incomes. Non-visitors cited other leisure interests (38 per cent), lack of interest in cultural activities and price (36 per cent each). A below-average 39 per cent cited the desire to be inspired by art and culture or to experience something new.

The campaign is being developed to market Hamburg as a city of culture, which was originally launched as the “Hamburg Summer of Culture” in 2021. The stakeholders involved are constantly reinventing the agenda to stir up enthusiasm for live cultural events after the pandemic. "The ‘Mixing is Possible’ campaign encourages younger residents of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region to engage with manifold cultural offers. There are many new things to discover here together," Strittmatter stressed. The campaign is backed by the Hamburg-based creative agency Karl Anders and offers tips about events on #Mischwoch and a look behind the scenes of cultural institutions while insider Daphne Sagner's Instagram videos take her followers in search of all the latest trends in Hamburg where they meet stakeholders in the culture scene.

mm/sb/pb