As the 2025 Calgary Stampede closes, it marks 10 days of record-setting park attendance days, larger attractions, bigger concerts, and one global superstar heading one of the largest Stampede parades ever.

For visitors to the Stampede, of which there have been many in 2025, the reception of what has been offered at the mainstays of the rodeo and the evening show, along with park attractions, has been up. While the attractions were aplenty, the Calgary Stampede fell short of a record cumulative attendance by roughly 10,000 people (1.48 million, versus 1.47 million in 2025).

Speaking to the media on the final Sunday just before the park opened, Calgary Stampede CEO Joel Cowley highlighted that some 71 per cent of visitors reported they had an excellent experience at Stampede Park.

“That’s up two per cent from last year, and that’s a great sign that we’re putting forth an excellent product. Forty-two per cent said that their expectations were exceeded, that’s up two per cent. Sixty-five per cent said that they would definitely, or very likely attend next year. That’s up 10 per cent from last year,” Cowley said.

“All evidence that our volunteers and staff have put forth our best product ever.”

That has been recognized by the corporate community as well, which saw the 2025 Stampede as a place to park their brand in front of hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Companies like Google, Uber, Yeti, Holt Renfrew, and many more all had major presences at the park.

“We consider that a stamp of approval when we have sponsors of the like that you just mentioned that want to partner with our brand, because we most definitely benefit from that, and it’s our goal that they benefit just as much, if not more, and the growth of the event,” said Cowley.

“Having all those people on site is truly what draws those sponsors, but it’s also the quality of the event. They come here and they experience the Stampede, and those many first-time sponsors as I spoke to them in suites and throughout the grounds, they were just blown away by the experience the spirit of this community, and the way this community embraces the Calgary Stampede each and every year.”

For many, their first rodeo

The makeup of who has been visiting the Stampede for 2025 has also bucked long-standing stereotypes of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

“Mid-show surveys indicated that almost 50 of those who responded identified as a visible minority. We take pride in setting a great big tent, and we want to fill that tent with a diverse offering that we can draw a very diverse audience. They can find something within that tent that I that they identify with, they feel comfortable, they feel safe within that tent,” said Cowley.

“But also tell you that the centre of that tent will always be our agriculture and our western heritage.”

He said educating the public on agriculture goes back to the very earliest days of the Stampede and still remains important for visitors who are generations removed from agrarian lifestyles.

“But we know that to serve a highly diverse population to draw them here so that they can come and learn about these things and see these things and share in our celebration, we have to have a very diverse offering here on park,” Cowley said.

Calgary Stampede President Stuart O’Connor said those experiences have everything to do with the thousands of employees and thousands more volunteers who make the Stampede happen.

“We are fuelled by the community spirit of more than 3,000 volunteers from 35 volunteer committees. These volunteers are our boots on the ground, both on and off, Park, flipping pancakes, meeting, programs and competitions and greeting visitors from around the world with a warm Calgary smile,” O’Connor said.

He said it was the Calgarians who show up ever year that really make the Stampede happen.

“We are most thankful to Calgarians for helping create the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. The Stampede is different than other fairs or festivals or events because of Calgarians who show up. That’s the secret,” O’Connor said.

“The Calgary Stampede is a symbol of what community can achieve when we come together. It’s an honour to be part of something that gives so much back to the community and to the people who make this city great. We put Stampede 2025 on together, and together we should be incredibly proud, and not just proud of the Calgary Stampede that’s received recognition across Canada and around the world, but proud of our city. Calgary showed up.”

Improvements for large crowds coming in 2026

Cowley also said that welcoming over 1.4 million people to the Stampede was not without it’s challenges.

Recording setting crowds at the Coca-Cola stage for a pair of concerts featuring Don Tolliver and Khalid has prompted the Stampede to begin planning for the stage in 2026.

“We will continue to evaluate that. That is at the very, very top of our list, and continue to evolve the Coke stage presentation, whether that’s involved additional crowd control measures or evaluating which artists are placed on the Coke stage,” Cowley said.

He said that efforts to provide an overflow area with shade and a big screen showing the stage performances had not been well utilized by guests, and that additional measures would be considered, including extra barriers and crowd control measures.

That work begins on July 14, with members of the Stampede staff travelling to another major event to evaluate crowd control measures.

Putting a limit on the number of guests per day was not something the Stampede would be looking at, said Cowley.

“It’s hard to predict at daily attendance. That’s one of the challenges, because we put forth this great offering over 10 days. Over time, we know which days are going to be more attractive to attend than others, and particularly when we offer our four free admission days,” he said.

“The great thing about those is that we require those people to come in free early and they typically don’t stay all day. They’ll leave mid afternoon, and we turn the grounds over. But we are continually monitoring what’s happening on site, working with Calgary Police, and our security providers have a state of the art control room with cameras all over the place, where we’re watching the crowds.”

The fight between eight people, which left three in hospital—none of whom have been assisting efforts by the Calgary Police to locate the other five—was also something that was being looked at by the Stampede.

“That’s incredibly disheartening for an event like ours that is supposed to be a celebration that some would come on grounds and look to do harm to others. So we’ve been asked about security. Well, until we know what the weapon was and how it came to be on grounds, did it come through our security, was it acquired on grounds, it’s really hard to make any adjustments,” Cowley said.

“But I will tell you that our security protocols are evaluated daily, working with our security team, our providers in the Calgary Police Service.”