The bar chart illustrates the percentages of five age groups attending three types of music events—classical concerts, opera performances and popular music shows—in Australia in 2006.
Overall, popular music events attracted the greatest attendance in all but the two oldest age groups, while classical concerts remained the least attended across every cohort. It is also worth noting that the youngest group was the most enthusiastic about popular performances, with classical attendance weakest among the oldest.
Among the youngest cohorts, 15-24-year-olds were most drawn to popular music, with 38% in attendance, compared with 13% at opera and just 11% at classical events. Likewise, 25-34-year-olds showed a strong preference for popular shows (27%), while opera drew 14% and classical only 8%. In the 35-44 bracket, popular music remained ahead at 33%, but opera attendance rose substantially to 25%, narrowing the gap with classical (11%).
In contrast, older age groups displayed different tastes. For 45-54-year-olds, opera led on 15%, slightly above popular music’s 13%, with classical concerts at 10%. The eldest cohort (55+) also favoured opera (15%), while classical events attracted 8% and popular music just 5%.