Strong turnout and favorable weather conditions mark a successful opening week for the Schueberfouer, with officials lauding the event's organisation and anticipating a return to pre-pandemic attendance levels.
Fairground owners are satisfied with the first few days of this new edition of the Schueberfouer, which got underway last Wednesday, and weather conditions certainly had something to do with the high visitor numbers.
"It was almost too hot on Wednesday. Afternoon rain on Thursday and Friday made us nervous for a bit, but the weekend was fantastic! A lot of visitors, many families in particular, livened up fair. For us, the Fouer can go on like this", exclaimed Charles Hary, president of the fairground organisers, at a press conference on Monday.
Organisers estimate that 100,000 visitors have flocked to the Fouer every day so far. According to Hary, the opening day drew more people than in previous years and hopes are that pre-pandemic levels can be reached with the latest edition.
Luxembourg City alderman Patrick Goldschmidt showed himself satisfied with mobility in and around the fair: "I am happy to see that so many people use public transport and parking shuttle services."
© Didier Weber / RTL
Praise for the organisation
Overall, officials praised cooperation between the 211 fairground owners and the municipality's event and market services. "The ones that are here for the first time are also satisfied. They even stress that the fair is even better organised than expected", noted fairground owner Laurent Schwaller.
Hary used the opportunity to address rumours that the municipality has introduced stricter contracts that jeopardise the earnings of fairground owners: "No, these contracts have not become stricter. People only have to indicate exactly what they are selling now, which means that sales can be monitored better. The municipality also demands that, same as with rides, stalls announce their prices for monitoring purposes."
Price checks have already been carried out during the first five days of the Fouer.
© Didier Weber / RTL
Uptick in reservations
Officials at the press conference said that restaurateurs are doing extremely well. Jérôme Bigard, who runs a 250-seat restaurant at the fair, noted that reservations are coming in early, which allows them to adequately prepare.
Reservations are said to have experienced a year-on-year increase of up to 30%. A number of restaurants already received calls far ahead of opening day.
There are close to 5,000 restaurant seats available at this year's edition and some currently have between 3,000 and 5,000 reservations.
© Didier Weber / RTL
Mayors' Day
Record numbers were also registered on the traditional Mayors' Day, which this year sees 54 local leaders serve customers in the Fouer restaurants. This might have to do with the upcoming national election, ahead of which political figures want to increase their visibility as much as possible.
€350 per establishment will be donated to the Red Cross in the context of Mayors' Day.
Prizes to win
And those who have yet to attend the fair can look forward to the presence of 'Lämmy', the event's mascot, who will be handing out tickets for the big Schueberfouer game. The winners will be drawn at random on 7 September, with prizes including trips to amusement parks.
© Didier Weber / RTL
