Rain put off 40,000 Goose Fair visitors despite its longer run
BUT MORE THAN £7M WAS SPENT DURING EXTENDED 10-DAY EVENT
THE number of Goose Fair visitors dropped by almost 40,000 last year but the historic event still attracted hundreds of thousands of customers who spent more than £7m in the city.
The 727th Goose Fair took place at The Forest recreation ground from Friday, September 29 to Sunday, October 8, drawing in more than half a million guests to enjoy the rides and fairground food.
But despite the huge visitor numbers over the 10 days, a Nottingham City Council report has said that last year’s visitor numbers were down on 2022’s figures due to bad weather.
The overall assumed total visitor numbers for last year’s event was 512,676 – a decrease of 6.9% from 550,380 the year before.
A visitor survey revealed that 20% of fair-goers said they would only attend the event if the weather was good and no rain was forecast.
The same survey showed that more than half of fair-goers would prefer Goose Fair to remain 10 days long, rather than returning to five days, like it was before 2022.
The survey said visitors who were in favour of the longer run time had reasoned that “more days makes it less crowded” and “a longer run is better as the weather is really unpredictable at this time of year”.
Those against the 10-day run, who seemed to be locals, said “the disruption to residents is too great over 10 days” and “five days is bearable but 10 is too long”.
The city council’s report estimated that £3.8m was spent on rides and attractions and £2.2m on food and drink, with a total of £7.1m being spent at the event.
The majority of visitors rated last year’s fair as very good or good (82%), with just 7% stating the event was poor or very poor.
Responding to the survey asking what could improve the fair, attendees said they would welcome cheaper prices for rides and food, more toilets and improved babychanging facilities, a great variety of rides, as well as more vegetarian, vegan, and halal options.