Cheltenham Festival attendance plunges as cost-of-living crisis blamed

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The cost-of-living crisis is being blamed for a drop in attendance on the Cheltenham Festival this yr.

The pageant, the spotlight of the National Hunt racing calendar, attracts tens of hundreds of individuals to the Regency city on the sting of the Cotswolds yearly.

It is matched by an increase in native lodge charges with guests charged a median £3,000 for a four-night keep. The most cost-effective lodge room on the eve of the pageant this yr value £399 for one evening.

This yr was the one hundredth anniversary of the pageant’s climax, the Cheltenham Gold Cup – and on Friday, it was a sell-out with round 68,500 on the venue.

But throughout the primary three days of the occasion, which included the rebranded Style Wednesday, attendance was down seven per cent in comparison with final yr.

It continued a pattern with final yr’s total pageant attendance additionally down on the file set in 2022 – though attendance was capped to 68,500 in 2023.

Ian Renton, managing director of Jockey Club Racecourses, which organises the pageant, informed The Independent the pageant had been impacted by financial state of affairs within the UK.

He stated: “The Cheltenham Festival remains the pinnacle of Jump racing and a marquee event in the sporting and social calendar, but we and all businesses operating in the leisure and hospitality industry know only too well the huge effect that the ongoing cost-of-living crisis is having on consumer behaviour.

“Whilst we’ve seen slightly lower numbers in terms of general admission this week, hospitality sales continue to go from strength to strength.”

Tickets for this yr’s pageant began at £37 after they went on sale 12 months in the past – the identical beginning value as final yr, and £2 greater than 2022.

Yet there have been clear areas within the cheaper viewing areas – such as the Best Mate’s and Tattersalls enclosures – on Wednesday and Thursday.

Inside The Guinness Village, the place the £7.50 value of a pint of Guinness has been unchanged for 18 months, punters stated the price of attending would make it troublesome for some individuals at the moment.

“The Gold Cup was on our bucket list, but I doubt we’ll be able to come again,” stated manufacturing facility employee Andrew Hargrave, who was amongst a gaggle of colleagues who had travelled from Washington in Tyne and Wear.

Forking out £284 for an entry bundle that included two nights’ keep at a lodge in Bromsgrove, they put apart £50 each month for a yr for the “special day”.

“It’s expensive – last night I could have got almost three pints for this one pint,” the 54-year-old stated.

“Wages aren’t high around where we are from and it’ll take some people two or three years to save up for this. It’s not just the ticket, it’s the travel, spend on food and drink and the bets. It’s a big treat.”

Also within the village was Tracy Holt, who paid £299 for a Gold Cup bundle, together with two nights’ keep in Walsall, which took her by bus from her hometown Doncaster in South Yorkshire.

“Not everyone can afford to come here,” the 51-year-old stated. “You can look at this and say it is the same price as a weekend away on holiday. With less money, people face tough choices on what to spend their money on.”

The Independent understands gross sales of multiple-day tickets had been down this yr with the spiralling value of lodging in Cheltenham and surrounding cities regarded as an element.

Data from Mybettingsites.co.uk confirmed the typical four-night keep on Booking.com rose to £3,030, 255 per cent greater than the week earlier than and after race week.

Brothers Quinten and Pierce Wilkinson attended all 4 days of the pageant, however stayed at a price range lodge in Swindon, paying £50 an evening. “You couldn’t afford a place near the racecourse,” stated Pierce, aged 27, from Windsor.

Some stated the pageant wasn’t helped by the worth of food and drinks inside – however others believed it was competitively priced in comparison with different sporting occasions.

Prices diverse relying on the enclosure. Outside The Guinness Village, a cheese and bacon burger value £12.50, a bacon roll £8 and a espresso £3.40.

While contained in the Orchard space, open to premium Club Enclosure ticket holders, an Argentinian steak restaurant charged £85 for a two-course meal together with primary choices like entire grilled sea bass and mushroom tagliatelle.

“We bring our own food and soft drinks,” stated Andrew Thomas, aged 48, who drove for Gold Cup day along with his 16-year-old son, Conor, from Swansea in Wales. “It can be expensive inside and this is a way to save a bit of money on the day.”

Friends Nick Madden and Dave Hartley, from Solihull within the West Midlands, set themselves a £100 price range for food and drinks.

“The cost of the tickets and things here won’t impact a large proportion of people,” stated Mr Hartley, a 35-year-old consultancy agency associate.

“But for those impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, they will look to save money and they will weigh up if this is worth it compared to a football match or concert.”

In the partially gravelled automotive park outdoors the pageant, a gaggle of tweed-wearing racegoers may very well be discovered standing across the open rear boot of a 4×4, automobile, feasting on selfmade sandwiches and soup.

“We much prefer saving some money out here while enjoying the space and socialising” stated Rosanne Panes, who’d helped pay £210 for the automotive parking area for the 4 days.

The drop in attendance additionally impacted retailers contained in the racecourse.

Marc Stevenson, who bought rocking horses contained in the pageant’s Shopping Village, stated: “It’s not so busy this year – fewer people are in the retail village, but we hope it can get put right.”

The Jockey Club stated the beginning value of tickets for 2025 will stay frozen after they go on sale on Monday.

The membership stated it is going to additionally look to enhance automotive parking services – vehicles bought caught within the mud on Tuesday – as a part of a “usual wash-up” means of the pageant forward of planning subsequent yr’s occasion.

Day 1 – Champion Day attendances

Day 2 – Style Wednesday (previously Ladies’ Day) attendances

Day 3 – St Patrick’s Day attendances