PUBLIC SUPPORT TO THE ARTS AND CULTURE

In Denmark, the following areas are within the province of the Ministry of Culture: Visual Art, Music, Theatre, Film, Libraries, Education in the Arts, Library Science, Archives, Museums, Zoological Facilities, Cultural Environment, Sport, Broadcasting, Copyright.

The State also provides subsidies to the activities of various associations devoted to leisure activities. However, these come within the province of the Ministry of Education and, therefore, are not included in this publication.

Activities within the areas mentioned above are financed in whole or in part by the public. The money derives from three sources: taxes, licence fees and profits from the national lottery and football pools. While tax resources and lottery profits are used to support the arts, culture and sports, licence fees are used to finance public service channels on radio and television.

Public subsidies to culture are divided among the three levels of public administration that exist in Denmark: the central government, county councils and municipal councils.

Subsidies for individual cultural goals vary a great deal among different financial sources. For example, theatre is primarily financed by the State and county councils, while libraries receive most of their subsidies from municipal councils, and sport is typically financed by municipal resources and lottery proceeds.

In 2002, the public budget for cultural activities amounted to a total of DKK 15.8 billion, of which the State’s contribution was approximately DKK 4 billion, corresponding to about 1 per cent of the national budget. Municipalities budgeted approximately DKK 7 billion and counties approximately DKK 0.4 billion. Licence fees, which go to radio and television stations, total approximately DKK 3 billion. Finally, the State distributes the proceeds from the national lottery and football pools, which amount to approximately DKK 0.9 billion.

The distribution of the total finances budgeted for cultural activities is shown in Figure 1, while Figure 2 shows how total public expenditures for cultural activities (excluding licence fees) are distributed among various cultural areas.

Trend in expenditures
Since 1990, the public financing of cultural activities has increased. Public expenditures for cultural activities, measured in fixed 2002 prices, have risen by 37 percent. Relatively large variations are included in this increase. The greatest increases have taken place within the areas of music, film, general cultural goals, international cultural goals, and sport.