Total attendance for Summerfest 2024, which ran over three weekends in June and July, was 555,925, its nonprofit producer Milwaukee World Festival Inc. announced today.
That figure is down 11% from last year’s festival, which drew a total of 624,407 to Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront in downtown Milwaukee.
The weather was certainly a contributing factor to the drop in attendance, with rain — and some severe storms — impacting six of the nine festival days. It was the most rain Summerfest had seen since its 2000 festival, according to Milwaukee World Festival.
“Summerfest once again hosted one of the most unique music festival lineups available anywhere,” said Sarah Pancheri, president and chief executive officer of Milwaukee World Festival Inc. “While the frequency of the rain was a challenge, our team appreciates the support of our sponsors, artists, vendors, and fans as we absolutely found the Summerfest spirit throughout the run in 2024.”
2024 marked the fourth year Summerfest has been held over three weekends, a post-pandemic shift from its longstanding 11-day run. Summerfest was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then postponed to September of 2021, when it first adopted the three-weekend format.
The festival’s lineup of more than 600 artists this year included SZA, Tyler Childers, Lil Uzi Vert, Maroon 5, Kane Brown, AJR, Ivan Cornejo, Goo Goo Dolls, Bryson Tiller, Cold War Kids, Mario, Alison Wonderland, En Vogue, The All-American Rejects, REO Speedwagon, Ethel Cain and Key Glock, among others.
MWF said the 2024 festival had a record 64 sponsorships, including 14 new sponsors, more than 33 additional exhibitors, and 87 marketplace vendors that filled 132 vendor spaces. Madison-based American Family Insurance is now in its eighth year of its presenting sponsorship agreement with Summerfest.
New this year, Summerfest debuted the Aurora Pavilion — sponsored by Milwaukee-based Aurora Health Care — a stage area with elevated lights and sound, a new permanent video screen, and larger viewing areas with increased capacity.
The festival also featured the new “Yield” art installation — an immersive light and sound experience with 192, 12-foot-tall LED cosmic corn stalks — in partnership with Milwaukee-based arts group FuzzPop Workshop. Finally, Summerfest launched its new Clover point-of-sale system, giving attendees a cashless and touchless payment option.
Of those who attended Summerfest in 2024, 21% accessed the festival through one of 14 free admission promotions. MWF provided more than 70,000 free tickets to the community, “ensuring the festival remains accessible,” the nonprofit said.
Attendees helped provide more than 26,000 meals for Wisconsinites struggling with food insecurity through Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. They donated more than $13,500 worth of hygiene products to United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County’s Mary Lou’s Closet and 4,000 books for Next Door’s community literacy initiatives.
MWF hired more than 2,400 seasonal employees for this year’s festival.
Here are the total attendance figures for the most recent years of Summerfest:
- 2024 – 555,925
- 2023 – 624,407
- 2022 – 445,611
- 2021 – 409,386
- 2020 – canceled
- 2019 – 718,144
- 2018 – 766,192
- 2017 – 831, 769
- 2016 – 804,116
- 2015 – 772,000
