In the 21st century, attending the annual PNE Fair of Vancouver has been very similar to its famous roller wooden mountain after the first peak: many turns and turns, but ultimately they are directed in one direction.
A day after the National Pacific Exhibition 2025 ended, the authorities said 612,404 guests attended this year.
That is a four percent decrease since 2024, but also the lowest number for the PNE of this century, outside 2020-22, when the fair operations were significantly reduced due to the pandemic.
In general, attendance decreased around 40 percent since its peak in the 1970s to the 1990s, when more than one million people would go through the Torniquetes of Hastings Park for the combination of travel, attractions, concerts and nostalgia.
PNE spokeswoman Laura Ballance said the decrease in this year’s assistance was due to less space for the fair due to the construction of the new amphitheater and uncertain economic conditions.
“We knew when entering this fair … that it was going to be a difficult year,” he said, adding that the general comments of the people who attended were “extremely positive.”
The base price for adults for PNE admission, which does not include trips, food or other payments, has increased from $ 6 to $ 25 this century.
The cost of organizing great events in North America continues to grow, said Ballance, noting that discounts would be reviewed next year.
“We are in the early hours of informing this fair, but that is something that will obviously be seen.”
The spokesman said that next year it would be a crucial year for the fair, with the FIFA 2026 World Cup prepared to bring a fans event and the newly built amphitheater.
He also highlighted the imminent arrival this autumn of a professional team of female hockey to the Pacific Coliseum, which is located on the PNE fields.
The new amphitheater could bring people
The author of Vancouver, Nick Marino, who wrote a memory of his relationship with the PNE called History of the East Side: growing in the PNE, This assistance was exceeding 600,000 in recent years, so although the fall is disappointing, it was not enormous.
Even so, the comedian and the teacher said that the 2025 edition of the fair did not have a convincing reason for people to attend.
“We saw the duels, we saw the super dogs, we saw the fire show at the end of the night,” Macarenko, a presenter of CBC’s told Gloria On the coastof his trip this summer. “We ate some food that was bad for us.
“But there was nothing to tell someone: ‘Oh, you have to go see this.'”
He also recognized the high prices at this year’s fair as a reason for the presentation of the attendance, and pointed out that they cost $ 8 for games like What-A-Mole.
“The nature of these fairs is that they are always a scam … I don’t know if I’m aging or what, but now it seems too much,” he said.
Marino said he believes that the installation of the new 10,000 seats will provide that convincing reason for the fair attendees to return in 2026.
“I think we must give a little pass due to construction,” he said about the 2025 fair.
“It’s like going to someone’s house in the midst of renovations and saying: ‘Well, it’s not very pleasant. The kitchen was not done,” he added. “I think when everything is done next year, I think it will be good.”
