Friday

29th Mar 2024

Europeans turning their back on culture, survey says

Fewer Europeans are reading books or going to the theatre, mainly due to lack of interest, time and money, according to new research.

Cinema-going was the only activity not to see a fall in numbers between 2007 and 2012, said pollsters Eurobarometer.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • The survey linked the trend to people having less time and money (Photo: European Commission)

The survey carried out for the European Commission, which contacted 27,000 people, also suggests that northern Europeans are more likely to visit museums and art galleries than those in the south and east of the bloc.

Some 68 percent of Europeans have read at least one book in the last 12 months, the most common cultural activity, while just over half visited an historical site or monument.

However, the numbers of concert- and museum-goers were lower at 37 percent and 35 percent, respectively, while a mere 18 percent have been to a ballet performance.

Meanwhile, the countries worst hit by the EU's economic crisis have seen steep declines in cultural activities.

Just 22 percent of Greeks visited one of the country's many historical sites and monuments in 2012, down from 33 percent in 2007, when the survey was last carried out. Portugal also saw a 12 percent fall to 36 percent.

Ninety percent of respondents in Sweden, 86 percent in the Netherlands and 82 percent in Denmark have read at least one book in the last year, compared to just 51 percent of respondents in Romania and 50 percent in Greece.

People in Scandinavian countries were also far more likely to sing or dance than their southern European compatriots.

Seventy four percent of Danes said that they had taken part in "cultural activity" in 2012 compared to just 14 percent of Bulgarians.

"Governments need to re-think how they support culture to stimulate public participation," said the EU's culture commissioner Androulla Vassiliou on Monday (4 November), adding that the EU executive would continue to promote its "Creative Europe," programme aimed at streamlining the EU's funding sources for culture.

There is also little sign that people are becoming more European' in their consumption of culture.

Just over three in 10 Europeans have read a book by a foreign author, while only 19 percent have visited a historical monument or site in another country and 10 percent have attended a live performance or exhibition.

Culture in figures: Nordics most engaged

In general in Europe, those in the north are more culturally savvy than those in the south, if statistics are anything to go by. But there are some outliers.

EU Commission defends Eurobarometer methodology

The EU executive responds that its public opinion survey is not a statistic, but a snapshot, after concerns were raised over the method that could result in pro-EU bias.

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us