An overall attendance record at the Queen City Ex has been set, with close to 275,000 people taking in the fair over eight days.

The new record beats 2019 by roughly 40,000 visitors.

REAL President and CEO Tim Reid says it’s amazing to have pulled off the event after so many months of uncertainty due to the pandemic.

“This year we put on the largest gathering in our province since the pandemic has begun, shattering previous attendance records,” said Reid. “But most importantly, doing something that we all questioned if it would be possible this year. We haven’t held an eight day fair since the 80s and what an amazing time we had.”

Reid says what made the 2021 QCX so memorable is the bringing together of people after being apart for so long.

He adds the record attendance is not only good for REAL, but for the city as a whole.

“Saskatchewan’s fair isn’t about this property, it’s about our city, it’s about celebration, and it’s about moments,” said Reid. “In 2021, the Queen City Exhibition had an economic impact of over $11.3 million, filled hotels, it filled restaurants, it brought people to our community at a time when our hospitality sector desperately needs that added bit of business.”

With other fairs being cancelled due to Covid, the QCX was able to go eight days this year, but Reid says people can expect the fair at it’s normal time next year.

“When I talk about the fact that we’re a province that was fortunate to be able to host the fair, there’s many that didn’t have the opportunity to come together the way we did,” said Reid. “So, with the (Canadian National Exhibition) planning to advance next year, we made the decision to go back to our original dates. Part of that to be honest is the weather tends to be better as well, so we will go back to August 3rd to 7th of 2022.”

REAL also announced that rap legend Ice Cube will headline next year’s exhibition.