International comparisons of public participation in culture and sport

Abstract

This report discusses comparative research on public engagement in sport and culture. It summarises the various issues which have impeded the conduct of this research. It then uses recent Eurobarometer, Eurostat and other data which avoid many of these problems to produce some initial findings: cultural attendance and sports participation are both higher than the average for Europe; higher rates of personal fulfilment are found for those that attend all kinds of culture, compared to those that do not; and rates of attendance between countries seem to be related to levels of government spend on culture, even once population differences are controlled for, although improved data and country contextualisation are required to substantiate this.