Difference in meaning

No real difference in practice, but I would say an audience is assembled to listen to something, and spectators go to see something.

Usually. There's some overlap, obviously.

Yeah, in addition, spectators is commonly used for sporting events, while audience is more often used for cultural events, ceremonies, etc.

There is no discernible difference. Mame and McTag, as usual, put to much meaning into words.

The spectators are the audience.

<thumps>

Work the HTML, Mame.

Work it, girl.

Otherwise you will be thumping into the night.

It's useful to recognise the differences.

In the theatre, or at a concert, or at a lecture, we speak of "the audience".
It doesn't matter whether it's indoors or in the open air.

At a sporting event, we have "spectators".

In church, the "congregation".

Overlap? I suppose that, at an open-air theatre production, you could speak of "spectators". (But I wouldn't)
Cinemas have "audiences".
Drive-in movies? Not sure.
Drive-by shootings? Witnesses. :wink:

An audience sits there quietly and enjoys the show whereas spectators douse themselves in body paint, get drunk and scream.

The words are interchangeable. Let us close the matter before things get ugly.

I would not wish that upon the audience or spectators.

No they're not.

You have onlookers at a street brawl
Spectators at a boxing match
An audience at a concert

They are most definitely not interchangeable.

As has been noted, theatres and cinemas have audiences, whereas sporting events have spectators. This points to the essential difference which may not be clear to those unfamiliar with Latin or the Romance languages, namely that audiences listen and watch, whereas spectators mainly watch.

An audience can consist of one or more persons or creatures or spectators.

An audience is normally presumed to have made a conscious decision to witness an event.

A spectator may be a member of an audience, or a casual bystander who accidentally and unintentionally witnesses something.

Thanks, all my friends, who've replied to my query.