Record attendance at Kilden!

“I can say with a high degree of certainty that visitor numbers in 2025 will be the highest in Kilden’s history. We’ll even surpass our opening year, which has held the top spot until now. We’re very proud that our audience appreciates what we have to offer,” says Harald Furre, Executive Director of Kilden performing arts centre.

In its opening year in 2012, the new theater and concert hall in Kristiansand welcomed 205,005 visitors. And it is not until the very last Christmas performances of 2025 that this record will be broken. Two days before the doors close for Christmas, a tally shows that the 2025 figure will be: 205,159.

Furre cites the occupancy rate in the venues as a key factor behind the record figures. From 2022 to 2025, the overall occupancy rate in the venues has risen from 66 to 81 percent. This year, Kilden hosted a total of about 900 events, both in its own venues and throughout Agder.

Has a broad appeal

– In recent years, we have made a conscious effort to appeal to a broad audience with our programming, and we have succeeded in doing so. All of our programming departments have done excellent work. We are seeing a very positive trend at both Kilden and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. For example, we have more than doubled sales of the Theater Pass from 2022 to 2025, and attendance at concerts featuring the orchestra has increased by a full 28 percentage points, says Furre.

The most-attended theater performances in 2025 were *Gengangere*, with 6,000 attendees, and the Christmas production *Snøsøstera*, with 9,000. The Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra set its own record, with all 1,150 seats sold out for the orchestra’s season opener in August. Nevertheless, it was the venue’s cultural center operations that hosted the performances attracting the largest audiences. In 2025, Kilden presented the musical We Will Rock You, attracting over 12,000 audience members during its run. Around 10,000 seniors attended the Seniorkilden program during the year, and nearly 8,000 attended Lørdagskilden, which is aimed at children.

In a stronger position

The fact that more tickets are being sold than ever before will strengthen Kilden’s ability to meet increased expenses and high maintenance costs in the coming years. He notes that the financial projections indicate a surplus in 2025, and that the entire surplus will be reinvested.

“A record attendance doesn’t mean that a strained budget suddenly becomes very generous. Our building is now 13 years old, and we’re facing massive reinvestments in both the building and technical equipment in the coming years,” explains Furre.