Summerfest announced today that 2012 attendance was down more than 8 percent – down to just over 805,000 from more than 875,000 last year. Surprise, Surprise.
The culprit? The heat.
Turns out people decided to forego the outdoor music festival for some more weather-appropriate activities. (Eating ice cream in an air-conditioned mall?) Summerfest provided several ways to stay cool at the festival – including three air-conditioned buses and misting stations – but the heat still created a hot, sticky fest. Officials said heat indexes were above 90 for eight of the festival’s 11 days, and official heat advisories and excessive heat warnings were issued on five days.
Even though attendance dropped, Summerfest officials said revenue in key areas – sponsorships, business group sales and exhibitors – was up more than 11 percent. But revenue from gate ticket sales and food and beverage sales was down 7.5 percent.
