Article content

It didn’t take long for a single-day attendance record at the Calgary Stampede to be broken.

A total of 122,403 attendees stepped through the gates of Stampede Friday, its first full day, to get their fix of midway food, free concerts and all the rides you could possibly imagine.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Single-day attendance record on first full day of 2018 Stampede Back to video

The previous record of 115,235 was set in 2017. Friday saw the record toppled by 7,168 people — a 6.22 per cent increase.

The Calgary Stampede Parade and subsequent two-and-a-half hours of free park admission contributed to the number, said Stampede spokeswoman Jennifer Booth.

“We had a great day (Friday). We had our parade-to-park, and that’s the second year we have reversed the parade route,” said Booth.

The parade-to-park initiative was set in place to help push foot traffic towards the Stampede grounds.

“In reversing the parade route, it’s a more natural progression to walking to the park from the route. We saw lots of people heading down the parade route for the free admission,” she said.

“The spirit and energy on park yesterday was incredible. Lots of people were down having fun.”

Booth said Day 1 might be a sign of things to come for the remaining days of the annual event.

“It’s very encouraging and we are very optimistic about this Stampede,” she said.

“The weather forecast looks phenomenal for our outdoor show so that definitely has an impact. We are really happy with yesterday’s (numbers).”

zlaing@postmedia.com

Follow @zjlaing