Public engagement in sport and culture across Europe is examined in a new report by Orian Brook for the UK Government available for download.

Using Eurobarometer, Eurostat and other data, it compares behaviour, consumption patterns and participation barriers by cultural audiences between EU countries.

Some key findings include:

• Cultural attendance and sports participation in Great Britain, Netherlands and Scandinavia are higher than the European average
• Higher rates of ‘personal fulfilment’ are found for those that attend all kinds of culture, compared to those that do not
• rates of attendance between countries seem to be directly related to levels of government spend on culture
• “Lack of time” was the most often quoted barrier, “lack of interest” came second, “too expensive” was third