In what might be the surest bet to ever be made throughout the 10-days of the Calgary Stampede, the all time attendance record set during the Stampede Centennial in 2012 is set to be smashed.

Already as of Saturday night on July 13, the ninth day of the Stampede, attendance had set a record number of 1,331,280 attendees, surpassing all but the final tallies of 2012 and 2023.

With just shy of 78,500 attendees to go, Stampede officials were boisterous on July 14 about the attendance and impression that guests had for the 10-days on park in 2024.

“I think we could arguably say that this was the greatest of the Greatest Outdoor Shows on Earth,” said Joel Cowley, Calgary Stampede CEO.

“Our staff and our volunteers will certainly take some time to celebrate this year’s Calgary Stampede, but work will soon begin to plan the 2025 Calgary Stampede and make it an even greater experience for those who attend our annual celebration.”

Throughout the 10 days several individual day records were also set.

Day 3, the Stampede’s Family Day set an all-time one-day attendance record of 201,260. Day 5, TC Energy Community Day on July 9, saw a 10-year high of 141,053.

Day 9, this year on July 11, which normally sees a trend downwards in attendance from the previous Tuesday and Wednesday, bucked the trend to rise to 135,351 attendees entering Stampede Park.

Outside of the park, the Stampede Parade also saw record-high numbers—exceeding 350,000 visitors to the Downtown Core to watch the parade.

“While numbers in high attendance are great, and they really are, what’s more important is the experience that our guests are having. That’s incredibly important to all of us,” said Will Osler, President and Chair of the Calgary Stampede Board.

Attendance puts Stampede back on track for budget in the black

While the Stampede creates projections each year for budgeting purposes, Osler said that largely the Stampede itself doesn't set visitation targets.

"We do pay attention to numbers, and big numbers means something. It means that the community is supporting and participating the Calgary Stampede on-park and off-park as well, but we don't set targets," he said.

"That wouldn't make a lot of sense because we concentrate on guest experiences, and when we get it right as I think we did this year thanks to Joel and his team, and we offer those guests expect those great experiences, then they're going to come."

The record attendance puts the Calgary Stampede back on a good trajectory financially—and culturally– Cowley said.

"I don't think there's any secret that the pandemic was nearly devastating to the Calgary Stampede, not just for the annual event but for our year-round event as well. During the pandemic, people couldn't gather," he said.

"Our business model is predicated on people being able to gather, whether that's during the 10-day festival or during the year for conventions and events."

He said that from the lows of the pandemic, which saw the organization lay off 80 per cent of their full-time staff as a result of being a non-profit without a "rainy day fund," three years from 2022–2024 has allowed the Stampede to rehire and rebuild that workforce.

"It has allowed us to address a lot of the capital needs that were really deferred during the pandemic, but those capital needs are still there. In addition to just repairing and maintaining things so that they're safe and they work, we'd like to expand and we'd like to improve our premium spaces, and we'd like to add more premium space. So, this is a multi-year recovery," Cowley said.

Among the challenges upcoming for next year's stampede include the Rotary International Convention, which will draw an estimated 35,000 visitors to the BMO Centre throughout the 10 days of 2025, and construction on the new Calgary Event Centre.

"We will overcome those challenges, and we will continue to provide a great experience. It's probably no surprise that we'll have to move parking for our staff and for volunteers, but if we do it right, it may be better than parking on site, quite frankly," said Cowley.

"We will obviously work with our partners with [Calgary Sport and Entertainment Corporation] and the City of Calgary as we plan this construction, and we phase this construction so that it has a minimal disruption to the Calgary Stampede because all of our partners understand how incredibly important the Calgary Stampede is to the community."

"Both from a cultural standpoint but also from an economic impact standpoint."

Among the upcoming things that will improve upon the visitor experience will be the eventual opening of more space at once the Calgary Event Centre is complete, Cowley said.

"The Saddledome will come down, and the Calgary Stampede will add that space to our footprint. We're really excited about that, to be able to add space. That's why the BMO Center expansion was so meaningful this year. In the fair and festival business, attendance is self-limiting. If you don't have the space, it really compromises the experience," he said.

Visitor experience numbers add up to a good time had

Among the cultural standouts this year from the mid-week Stampede visitor experience survey held by the Calgary Stampede included super-majority numbers about positive event experiences.

Cowley said that 88 per cent of visitors found it an easy choice to make this year to visit the Calgary Stampede, that 90 per cent of visitors had a positive view of Western culture, and that 90 per cent of visitors found the Calgary Stampede to be an important part of Calgary's identity.

A little over 26 per cent of visitors were also from outside of Calgary.

But among the statistics, one really stuck out to Cowley as an important metric that showed the Stampede is an inclusive and welcoming place.

"This year's survey also indicated that 46 per cent of those who attended this year's Calgary Stampede identify as a visible minority. That one is really meaningful to me because we want to be a Stampede for all. We want to welcome the world, and we want to provide great hospitality," he said.

The Cowboys Rangeland Derby also scored top marks this year, with nearly 90 per cent of visitors rating the show seven out of 10 or higher, and 62 per cent rating it a 10 out of 10 experience.

Safety of animals is something the Stampede said they will continue to address

Cowley said there was a somber side to the rodeo and chuckwagon experience and one that the Calgary Stampede would have to improve upon.

During Heat 8 of Saturday's chuckwagon racing a horse from Obrey Motowylo's team was injured and was euthanized by driver decisions after examination by veterinarians.

During this year's Stampede, a total of three horses were injured during racing and were euthanized, including the horse on July 13.

"We take great pride in providing these animal experiences and you could hear from the fantastic reviews that the Cowboys Rangeland Derby gets from our attendees that they truly enjoy those experiences. We work very, very hard to minimize these types of incidents," said Cowley.

"If you take a look at both our rodeo rules and you take a look at our chuckwagon rules as they pertain or compare to the governing bodies, our rules are far more animal friendly. We know that we need to do that for our crowd."

Cowley outlined some of the changes that the Stampede has made, including reducing racing from four chucks to three, and including ways for drivers to disengage from the track if they feel pressured or unsafe while racing.

"Clearly, we have more work to do. The critics of our animal activities will say this is unacceptable, and quite frankly, we agree," he said.

"We're not alone in this, because there are a number of fantastic organizations that race horses and provide rodeo that are working on the same things, and we will work with them to continue to evolve our programs and our animal safety to make it as safe as possible."

Stampede breakfasts back in a big way

The Stampede this year touted the more than 240 pancake breakfasts held in Calgary over the length of the festival as a metric that recognized the increased interest in the Stampede.

Cowley said that with the inflation issues this year, the Stampede was mindful that many Calgarians who didn't have the means to take in the Stampede attended breakfasts to be involved with the festival.

"That's why we take such great pride in our caravan and promotions committees traveling throughout the city offering a free pancake breakfast and taking a Stampede experience to them," he said.

"We would really love it if they would come and visit us here, and we work with sponsors to offer free admission and that allows families who otherwise may not have the means to come to attend. So, Tim Hortons Family Day, TC Energy Community Day, and BMO Kids Day being amongst amongst those."

The largest breakfasts held this year were among those attended by the nation's and the province's politicians.

The 26th annual Ismaili Muslim Stampede Breakfast, which drew attendees from across the political spectrum, and from levels of government from Calgary city councillors to federal ministers, drew thousands of visitors. As did the traditional First Flip—which itself broke records for attendance on Stephen Avenue Mall.

Premier Danielle Smith's breakfast, an annual tradition held by the Premiers of Alberta, saw an estimated 3,600 guests according to the Premier's office, and saw Governor of Alaska Mike Dunleavy and U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen in attendance.

Speaking to the media on July 7, Premier Smith spoke about her government's policies including taxes and energy, and used the opportunity to meet with many supporters.

Official opposition Alberta NDP breakfasts also drew large numbers, with Calgarians looking to meet the newly-elected leader and former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi by the thousands—over 4,000 on Sunday, July 7 and 4,500 on Saturday, July 13 according to caucus officials.

Nenshi himself, who was no stranger to the political side of Stampede during his time as mayor, said that it was fabulous to step back into that realm after three years away.

"To me that has been the best part being at events like this grassroots event where I just get to sit down with neighbours and talk about what's on their mind," he said.

"I also want to ensure that people are getting the chance to talk to their political leaders about the things they need. It's easy to go through a Stampede cycle, and we see lots of politicians do this where you only talk to the same people at every event, and I really want to get out into the community more."