Greece/ 8.2 Cultural consumption and participation  

8.2.1 Trends and figures

There has not been a comprehensive survey of visitor cultural practices in Greece. Quantitative information is therefore partial, inconsistent and anecdotal, and not amenable to be presented in tabular form for fear of misinterpretation.

Figures available concerning attendance at museums and archaeological sites suggest a significant increase in visitor attendance in the last few years, especially for museums:

Table 3:     Attendance at museums and archaeological sites, 2000 and 2006

Source:  National Statistical Service of Greece, Admissions to museums by month, 2000, 2006; idem, Admissions to archaeological sites by month, 2000, 2006.

The vast majority of visits are to archaeological sites of national importance such as the Acropolis of Athens, Knossos, Olympia, Lindos and Epidaurus and the Knights' Palace of Rhodes, and major museums such as the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and the Benaki Museum.

The special Eurobarometer survey 278 (2007) found out that, during the last twelve months, 71% of Greeks attended a cultural programme on TV or radio at least once; 59% read a book; 46% have been to the cinema; 33% visited a monument or site; 30% have been to the theatre; 25% visited a museum (almost twice as many as in the 2002 survey); 21% have been to a concert; 15% visited a library; and, 12% have been to the ballet or opera..

According to an earlier Eurobarometer survey (2002), only 24.6% of Greeks listen to international pop music, while a majority of 62.5% listen to Greek music records; 37% of Greeks claim to have been to a live performance of Greek music, and 30.7% have danced (not necessarily at the same occasion) in the last twelve months. On the other hand, according to Eurostat (2006), Greeks frequent the cinema only 1.2 times a year on average (13 million admissions altogether).

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