An uncalled for windstorm and the aftermath to follow ultimately led to this years fair missing the mark on its projected attendance by 10%. With the aid of a strong final four days, the PNE managed to get 678,000 people through the gates, but still realizes it wasn’t enough.
The PNE kicked off the fair with a hot start for the first five days and saw the strongest attendance in a decade as 238,530 guests walked through gates – 22,500 more than anticipated. On day 6 however, a powerful windstorm swooped into the lower mainland and left over half a million people without electricity. The Fair lost over 100,000 visits to its anticipated budget.
“We were tracking to have the best attendance in recent memory, but the wet weather that set in on the first Friday brought the coldest days in the city since spring.” says PNE President and CEO Mike McDaniel. Of course we do expect some rain during the Fair, but did not anticipate the impact that would be felt across our region after the rain hit Friday, the winds hit Saturday and the turbulent weather continued until the following Thursday.”
Attendance numbers by day show the impact of the storm on the event:
Date / 10 year attendance trend / 2015 Attendance
August 22, 2015 35,000 39,521
August 23, 2015 35,000 37,921
August 24, 2015 – Closed
August 25, 2015 65,000 70,587
August 26, 2015 40,000 46,171
August 27, 2015 41,000 44,330
August 28, 2015 47,000 23,730
August 29, 2015 52,000 33,707
August 30, 2015 52,000 49,131
August 31, 2015 – Closed
September 1, 2015 45,000 20,083
September 2, 2015 50,000 22,954
September 3, 2015 55,000 42,655
September 4, 2015 62,000 58,506
September 5, 2015 63,000 62,452
September 6, 2015 63,000 70,681
September 7, 2015 55,000 55,764
760,000 678,193 *August 28 to Sept. 3 represents days with severe weather.
2015 was the third year of a five-year plan to re-energize The Fair at the PNE. Successes of 2015 included an overwhelmingly positive response to The Magical History Tour, A Beatles Exhibition; The Broadway Musical Peter Pan Starring Cathy Rigby; Summer Night Concerts including Boyz II Men, the Beach Boys, and Hall and Oates; and the Superheroes Discovery Centre and Dinosaurs Alive!
Planning is now fully underway for the 2016 Fair at the PNE. What are some ideas you think will help bring out a bigger attendance next summer?
