Experiencing culture for a wellbeing boost, Image: Nick Banks


New research has assessed the monetary value of the health and wellbeing benefits from cultural engagement in the UK.

What price would you put on public health and wellbeing? If governments could save money on our healthcare by investing in other areas, then why wouldn’t they do it? Recent research commissioned by the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has shown that engaging with culture and heritage improves the health and wellbeing of adults in the UK to the sum of £8billion (9.5 billion euros) per year.
This is based on the health and wellbeing benefits associated with an individual adult engaging with culture and heritage at least every few months – by visiting a museum, gallery or watching a concert – being worth approximately £1,000 per year. At population level, the societal benefits, which include increased productivity due to better health, add up to the much larger figure.
“This work demonstrates that as well as preserving history and celebrating creativity, investing in culture and heritage unlocks better physical and mental health, reduces healthcare costs and increases the country’s productivity,” said Sarah Karlsberg from Frontier Economics who conducted the research.
It has been difficult in the past to secure government investment in the cultural heritage sector, at least in the UK. Having a monetary value on the specific health benefits to individuals and healthcare budgets overall might be a good lever to increase the level of support.
Heritage minister Chris Bryant said, “Culture and heritage are the beating heart of communities… inspiring, educating and enlightening people from all walks of lives and helping to tell our national story. This research shows how culture and heritage can directly impact our lives, improving our physical and mental wellbeing, and highlights the importance of preserving our rich heritage to ensure it can enrich the lives of many, for years to come.”
So, what should happen now?
Many of us already value our cultural experiences as more than ‘just a day out at the museum’ or ‘something to keep the kids entertained’, but the wider health benefits should be celebrated more so that governments – all over, not just in the UK – have more reason to invest in culture to see improved population health, reduced healthcare budgets and improved economic productivity; a great return on investment, aside from the myriad of other benefits from investing in, preserving and celebrating cultural heritage. The Museums Association believes that museums themselves also need to shout louder about their contribution to health and wellbeing.
In the meantime, eat up all the culture you can and enjoy boosting your health!

You can read a longer article by Geraldine Kendall Adams via the Museums Association:https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2025/01/cultural-engagement-brings-health-and-wellbeing-benefits-worth-8bn/#

And you can find a link to the research report via Frontier Economics: https://www.frontier-economics.com/uk/en/news-and-insights/news/news-article-i21105-engagement-in-culture-and-heritage-creates-8bn-in-value-per-year-for-the-uk/ 

To cite this article: IE News Team (2024) ‘Culture makes us healthier‘ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 4-2024, pg.18. Available online: https://interpret-europe.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Newsletter-2024_4.pdf