News

Attendance at shows and concerts at VSCD venues has been rising for the fourth year running. In 2025, total attendance rose by 10 per cent to 16 million visits. This suggests that the growth is no longer merely a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, but is increasingly developing into a structural trend. This is evident from ‘Podia 2025’, the annual publication of the Association of Theatre and Concert Hall Directors (VSCD).

This points not only to a continuing demand for live cultural experiences, but also to the quality and appeal of the programmes on offer. The 68,000 events organised by VSCD members attracted 16 million visits from the public. Half (52 per cent) of the events consisted of professional performing arts performances and concerts. This programme attracted almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of all visits.

As was the case last year, the venues were also fuller. On average in 2025, seven out of ten seats in the largest auditorium were occupied, 2 percentage points higher than in 2024, when the occupancy rate was 68 per cent.

Nationwide distribution of culture
The network of VSCD venues forms the cultural infrastructure on which creators, companies and audiences can build. This infrastructure ensures the reach, accessibility and distribution of culture throughout the Netherlands.

Two in three Dutch people live in a municipality where one or more VSCD venues are located. You don’t have to travel far in the Netherlands to reach a venue – on average, 4.8 km. In the northern provinces, the travel distance to a venue is greatest, but still only 7.3 km. Venues fulfil not only a municipal but also a regional function. The network of venues thus forms an important national cultural infrastructure and makes culture accessible to a large part of the population.