MILWAUKEE — With attendance on the rise, Summerfest will return with a three-weekend format in 2024.
Summerfest attendance increased by 40% from 2022 to 2023, the festival announced Tuesday.
Over the course of Summerfest, 624,407 festival goers came through the Summerfest gates to listen to more than 600 artists.
Capacity crowds filled the American Family Insurance Amphitheater for Zac Brown Band, Zach Bryan and Imagine Dragons.
Summerfest officials said the number of nine-day pass sales doubled in 2023.
Festival officials said 17% of Summerfest patrons got in for free this year — which totaled in at more than 50,000 free tickets.
“These are fantastic results for Summerfest’s 55th anniversary. We are thrilled our fans turned out to enjoy Summerfest’s unique brand of music, food, and fun,” said Don Smiley, chief executive officer of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. “As I look back on my 20 years of leading Summerfest, this year’s festival is a highlight, as our team continued to deliver a world-class experience in a world-class setting.”
As part of admissions promotions, Summerfest patrons donated more than 27,000 pounds of food to Hunger Task Force, more than $18,000 worth of hygiene products to schools in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties and more than 3,500 books for Next Door’s community literacy programs.
“Summerfest’s 2023 results allow our organization to continue to position the festival for future success. The Summerfest experience remains one of the best in the business and our team looks forward to enhancing that experience in the years to come,” said Sarah Pancheri, president of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc.
Plans for Summerfest 2024 are already underway. Next summer, the festival will run over three weekends again: June 20-22, June 27-29 and July 4-6.
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