Spain introduces €400 culture voucher for all 18-year-olds

Spain has introduced a €400 culture voucher scheme for all 18-year-olds.

Recipients of the Youth Cultural Bonus will be able to spend their vouchers on festivals, concerts, books, vinyl, cinema tickets, as well as digital music and subscriptions.

The initiative, which has been launched in the aftermath of COVID-19 and aims to boost the cultural sector, is intended to “promote loyalty that generates the habit of consuming cultural products in young people so that, as adults, they continue to consume cultural products regularly,” according to an official government statement.

Voucher awardees will have one year to spend the €400, with a €200 spending cap on live events and festivals, a €100 cap for physical products like vinyl, and a €100 cap for digital products. It is estimated that around 500,000 young people in Spain will benefit from the plan.

Spain’s Youth Cultural Bonus follows in the footsteps of Italy and France, who have both launched similar voucher schemes.

In October, it was announced that UK DJs and musicians will be able to tour Spain without a visa under a new deal hailed as “a big victory”.

Spain represents one of the largest overseas markets for acts from the United Kingdom, thanks in part to major festivals such as Primavera Sound and Sónar.