'Fantastic year': Calgary Stampede attendance just short of all-time record

This year's edition of the Calgary Stampede was a definite hit, with 1,384,632 visitors showing their support for the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth." 

That tally fell just short of the highest attendance record of all time when 1,409,371 attended in 2012.

As the 10-day event drew to a close on Sunday, officials announced this year was path-breaking in more ways than one.

"We knew it was going to be a fantastic stampede weeks beforehand, so we had to prepare to welcome the world to Stampede Park," said Stampede CEO Joel Cowley at a press conference on Sunday.

'This is a fantastic year'

Cowley said his team was optimistic about the turnout thanks to the advance ticket sales and hotel bookings.

He added that robust attendance numbers are a must to help the team bounce back after the pandemic.

"This is a fantastic year ... this is what we really need to set our footing going forward. We've taken on a lot of debt over the past couple of years," he said.

"Looking at this year's attendance, looking at the bookings, I would have to say we're probably back with regard to generating that economic impact and drawing people from outside of Calgary."

Will Osler, president and chair of the Stampede board, expressed his appreciation for the contribution of the 3,000 volunteers. 

"They are our heartbeat, they drive what we do," he said. "And they will continue to drive us into the future."

The weather was mostly good over the course of the 10 days, with mainly sunny days and highs ranging from 19 C to 29 C.

As usual, there were a few afternoon thunderstorms — but also some smoke from distant wildfires to deal with.

There was one reported animal death during the rodeo events. A horse was euthanized after suffering an injury during a chuckwagon race on Friday.

Boon for multiple sectors

The president of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Deborah Yedlin, said the Stampede turned out to be a boon for multiple sectors in the city, including hospitality, tech, agriculture, finance and more.

"We've never seen the tech sector as visible as it was," she said. "Lot of events [were] hosted by the tech sector, which was phenomenal … in addition to the agriculture and the energy folks and the finance folks also being very, very visible.

"It was an incredible Stampede, there's no question about it."

Yedlin believes the "economic effect is going to linger," which she says is especially crucial for the hospitality industry.

"We've had a huge lift to the hospitality sector, which we know was so hard-hit during COVID, and now this has really been an incredibly positive, you know, 10 days for them," she said.

This was confirmed by Tourism Calgary's vice-president of marketing, Jeff Hessel, who said hotel occupancy rates crossed 95 per cent on some nights during the Stampede.

"[We're] really, really excited by the fact that we are seeing the return of international travellers coming to Calgary," he said. 

"And so when we were speaking to the Stampede about ticket sales, they were definitely above 2019 levels from international markets." 

According to Hessel, many international Stampede ticket buyers were from the U.K., as well as the United States, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. 

'Very pleased by what we're seeing'

Hessel said the city's restaurants were very busy during Stampede season, with patio restaurants being the most popular.

"We're very pleased by what we're seeing and we're hoping to have a lot of more numbers firmed up as we start getting through the coming weeks," he said.

Hessel believes good things are in store for Calgary's tourism industry.

"Usually, Stampede is a really good indication of what we're about to see for the rest of the summer," he said.

"And if it is any indication, we're really excited to see how this summer turns out with people from around the world coming to Calgary."