The UK population went into ‘lockdown’ in response the Coronavirus pandemic on 23 March, and at the point audiences started to receive and respond to this survey, they already had experienced 31⁄2 weeks of staying at home. No cultural venues were open during this period, and most had announced cancellation of events until at least the end of May, and some beyond.

Many organisations were having to make quick decisions about if and how to cancel performances, and whether or not to put Autumn and 2021 seasons on sale. Typically, the March/April period would coincide with many organisations announcing their full 20/21 seasons of work, scheduled to run from September 2020, and so data about what audiences’ perceptions of returning to events was urgently needed.

Indigo developed and offered the After the Interval survey free to all UK and Ireland cultural organisations, to provide the sector with the information they needed as quickly as possible. Additionally, Indigo offered to provide each participating organisation with its own results in real time whilst also aggregating the data into a large national data set for wider sharing amongst the sector.

Cultural charities had the option to ask additional questions related to how audiences might consider supporting them financially when they re-open.

The data was collected between 16 April and 27 May.

A second survey ‘After the Interval: Act Two’ began on 1 June and ran until 15 July.

This report takes a Scotland-only cut of the data, and outlines the key metrics for consideration in Scotland.