The value of the arts to the economy has been underlined in an evaluation of Island of Culture 2014.

The Isle of Man Arts Council assessed the impact of the year-long cultural celebration, surveying the general public, schoolchildren and people on its mailing list.

It found that, on average over a year, attending cultural events leads to a spend of ?110 per person in addition to admission charges.

Based on the population at the last Census, that means the arts has the potential to generate ?6.4 million a year for the economy.

The evaluation also showed residents are highly engaged with the arts, revealing 96% of those surveyed attended at least one event in 2014. The most recent Arts Council England survey put the engagement figure there as 69%.

Half of those surveyed said they had specifically heard of Island of Culture 2014, with awareness higher among older generations.

The most engaging activities were the Loaghtan sheep sculpture erected at the Bungalow, Christmas lantern workshops, film events hosted by TV critic Mark Kermode and An Audience with Patricia Routledge, which formed part of the Mananan Festival at the Erin Arts Centre. The events were all funded or supported by the Arts Council.

Commenting on cultural events in general, six in 10 people stated contemporary music, comedians and local stage musicals had been their favourite events in recent years.

Some 77% of those surveyed said that they would feel a great loss if forced to give up arts and culture events. Three quarters disagreed with a statement that money spent on arts and culture could be better spent on other things.

Social media is the most widely used medium to find information on events, the evaluation showed.

The Arts Council is part of the Department of Education and Children (DEC), which formed a special committee to ensure young people benefited from Island of Culture 2014.

The evaluation showed 85% of young people took part in at least one activity, with live screenings of War Horse from the National Theatre, staged specially for schools, being the most popular event of the year.

Geoff Corkish MBE, MLC, Chairman of the Arts Council, said: ‘We have spent much of 2015 reflecting on Island of Culture 2014 and planning our way forward to ensure we capitalise on its legacy.

‘The information gained from this evaluation is being used to inform our new arts strategy which will be launched at the end of this year, as well as a new website, funding scheme and communications strategy.’

Mr Corkish continued: ‘As a result of Island of Culture we are excited to be able to offer revised, major bursary funding for students seeking higher or further education off Island in the arts, recognising the exceptional high level of talent we nurture here.

‘We acknowledge that as part of our findings there are continuous improvements we can make.

‘Island of Culture has been valuable not only because of what it created during 2014, but also as a platform that as an Arts Council we are now exploiting for the benefit of our economy, cultural community and young people.’