Nearly 1.5 million people visited the CNE this year

The CN Tower is shown in the background of rides at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paige Taylor White

Nearly 1.5 million people visited the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) this year, not quite hitting the record-breaking numbers the fair reported in 2023.

According to the CNE, 1.49 million visitors hit the fairgrounds from Aug. 16 to Sept. 2. Last year, 1.604 million people attended the weeks-long event, which marked the highest attendance in the fair's history. The previous attendance record was set nine years ago with 1.601 million visitors.

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That said, this year's attendance surpassed pre-pandemic attendance in 2019, when 1.46 million visited The Ex.

"Organizers predicted approximately 300,000 visitors over the last four days of the CNE, traditionally capped off by the Canadian International Air Show," the fair said in a release issued on Thursday.

Instead, there were 150,000 more attendees than expected, marking it one of the most popular weekends the fair said it has seen recently.

The CNE said it stokes an economic impact of around $112 million annually for the region, noting that attendees spent more than $210 million in the Greater Toronto Area in 2023.