A roaring 20s for fandom convention attendance

After Anthrocon finished its closing ceremonies this year, it came in with 3 more than last year’s Midwest Furfest’s last year’s final tally. With 13,644 attending 2023’s anthrocon this July, Anthocon has shown a 40% gain from its 2022 count of 9,720.

Other larger furry conventions have also shown significant increases in attendance this year as well. Texas Furry Fiesta from earlier in the year had a 33.5% increase. Furry Weekend Atlanta has also shown significant growth for the year at 43.2%.

While the post-pandemic growth in fandom gatherings is hardly isolated to furry, it has shown the rhyming echo of the 1920s after their world war and influenza pandemic within our own 20s era a century later. The parties we are throwing are getting larger, and people are doing what they can to celebrate after surviving through the past three years.

Expect the crOwOds

Should Midwest Furfest grow at the same rate this year, it will be over 19,000 furries showing up in December of 2023. Around 5,500 more than had shown up the year prior. And given how crowded the convention halls and Hyatt Regency were for 2022, the challenges of this unprecedented growth in furry gatherings are on their way, ready or not.

Biggest Little FurCon could also break a its previous record of 5,804 it set before the pandemic and could even finally broach the 6,000 mark should it also have a similar rise in registration rates the others have shared.

Megaplex and Eurofurence will have challenges this year that may hinder their growth from being as massive as their fellow gatherings. The former having to limit attendance to 18+ in response to government actions against LGBTQ+ positive institutions, and the later changing venues and dates. But if this year has shown anything, it is don't underestimate the demand for the conventions.