Worship attendance
A total of 37,300 people per week (82% adults and 18% children aged under 16) were reported attending usual cathedral services in 2019, a similar number to 2018 (37,100). Total weekly attendance is 13% larger in 2019 than it was a decade ago in 2009.
Weekly attendance at usual cathedral services is split fairly evenly between Sunday (47%) and midweek (53%) services.
Total annual attendance at additional regular services (i.e. not necessarily weekly but conducted at least once a month – including fresh expressions of Church and regular school services) was 502,800 people in 2019, of whom 67% (just over 337,900 people) were attending regular schools services.
• More than 820,000 people were reported as having attended 2,400 specially arranged services and events in 2019. Just under 1.3 million people were reported as having attended 5,800 public / civic events held in cathedrals in 2019.
Festival attendance
Total attendance reported at Easter services at cathedrals in 2019 was 52,000 with just over half of these (54%) taking communion; attendance in 2019 was 10% lower than in 2018. Attendance during Holy Week (from Palm Sunday to Good Friday) was 93,000, 4% higher than in 2014, when it was first reported.
• Total reported Christmas attendance was 132,000 in 2019. Nearly a quarter (24%) of attendees in 2019 took communion. Services during Advent (including carol services, concerts, nativity plays, and so on) had a record high reported attendance of 665,000 in 2019, an increase of 5% from 631,000 in 2014 when it was first reported.
Visitors
Almost 10 million people visited cathedrals in 2019, a drop of 4% from 2018 (10.1 million). In 2019 39% of attendees were paying / donating for entry. A further 1.3 million people visited Westminster Abbey, where 99% of visitors paid / donated for entry.
All figures taken from the 2019 Church of England Cathedral Statistics Summary.
