How many people attended the Iowa State Fair on opening day? Here's the total
The Iowa State Fair saw more than 1 million people attend last year and this year they have already seen an uptick in advance ticket sales.
The fair has sold 16,000 more advanced tickets this year than in past years, according to KCCI. The 2023 Iowa State Fair was a year of records including eight new animal sales records and a record number of water bottles sold.
So is this year on track to beat any records other records?
How many people attended the Iowa State Fair on Day 1?
The Iowa State Fair saw 90,822 people attend the opening day on Thursday, Aug. 8.
How does attendance at the 2024 Iowa State Fair compare to 2023?
In 2023, 87,380 attended the first day of the fair. Opening day of 2024 saw 3,442 more people than in 2023.
One of the 2023 state fair days even hit as high as 118,286 people in attendance, according to the Iowa State Fair website. In total, over 1.1 million people went to the fair in 2023, making it the second-biggest fair on record.
Day: 2024 (2023)
Thursday: 90,822 (87,380)
Friday: (101,177)
Saturday: (118,286)
Sunday: (114,937)
Monday: (100,214)
Tuesday: (101,244)
Wednesday: (98,751)
Thursday: (101,475)
Friday: (112,048)
Saturday: (112,732)
Sunday: (85,714)
Total: (1,133,938)
How many people attended the Lauren Daigle concert at the Iowa State Fair grandstand?
Opening night's grandstand act saw 9,726 people attend.
The grandstand act for opening night, Lauren Daigle, outsold all past opening night acts, according to KCCI. Daigle is an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter from Louisiana. Some of her songs include "Be Okay" and "You Say."
Friday's grandstand will bring out rock band Foreigner for its Historic Farewell Tour. Saturday's grandstand will be country and rock 'n' roll artist Jelly Roll, which has already sold out.
What were big moments at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday?
Some might call the opening day of the state fair the "biggest" day of the fair, not just because of turnout, but because of the biggest livestock competitions. Records were already smashed on day one.
Finnegan the hog broke the biggest boar record at the Iowa State Fair weighing in at 1,420 pounds. That is 85 pounds heavier than 2012 champion boar Reggie.
Finnegan wasn't the only livestock champ of the day. Teddy Bear took home the title of Super Bull, weighing in at 3,064 pounds.
Outside of livestock winners, Indianola local Steven "Jack" Stout also took home a win from the Iowa Lottery "Cash Fever" game show Thursday night. Stout won the prize of $500,00, while other contestants made it out with anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 in prize money.
Iowa State Fair attendance: The 15 biggest fairs of all time
2019: 1,170,375
2023: 1,133,938
2018: 1,130,260
2017: 1,130,071
2022: 1,118,763
2015: 1,117,398
2008: 1,109,150
2012: 1,097,142
2021: 1,094,480
2011: 1,080,959
2004: 1,053,978
2013: 1,047,246
2016: 1,031,278
2014: 1,015,902
2006: 1,013,557
2003: 1,012,309
Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State Fair: What was the attendance for opening day 2024?
