Summerfest reports sharp drop in attendance during 9-day run in September

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Summerfest released an attendance total Wednesday, for its nine-day run in September 2021.

Milwaukee World Festival, Inc., producer of Summerfest, says attendance was less than previous years, totaling 409,386 fans.

The festival attributed the low attendance to its move to September, the emergence of the Delta variant, the addition of new entry protocols, loss of public transportation and the rainy Labor Day weekend. 

"While the results were not what the organization anticipated, it was significant to be able to operate Summerfest in September, during the pandemic," a release said. "MWF would like to thank the fans, vendors and sponsors for their support this year, and look forward to seeing them next summer."

Summerfest 2022 will take place during its traditional June and July timeframe for three weekends, Thursdays-Saturdays, June 23-25, June 30-July 2 and July 7-9.

Summerfest hosted 718,144 patrons in 2019 and more than 2,000 artists. 

The festival reached peak attendance in 2001 with more than one million fans.