JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- The official attendance assessment for the biennial Arctic Thunder Open House on July 20 and 21, 2024 is more than 260,000, based on aerial imagery and data collection; two and a half times the attendees in 2022.
“We reviewed aerial video and imagery, headcounts, and parking data,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Lee Morgan, director of ATOH 2024. “Since we don’t charge for admission or parking, we have to rely on other event industry algorithms, models, and best practices to calculate attendance.”
Despite losing nearly one-third of the available parking during previous open houses, this year’s attendance is estimated to be 160,000 more than in 2022.
“Once we realized how much parking we were losing due to the runway extension project, the ATOH team came up with brilliant parking and traffic solutions that worked exceptionally well, evidenced by not having to close the gates early, Saturday or Sunday,” Morgan said. “In 2022, the parking lot reached maximum capacity by early afternoon, and we unfortunately had to turn people away.”
“Last weekend was an incredible opportunity for us to interact with the community, which is so supportive of us and what we do. It allowed our Airmen and Soldiers the opportunity to shake your hand, say ‘thank you,’ and to hopefully inspire the people of Alaska who inspire us every day.”
The sunny, 70-plus degree weather might also have drawn the 260,000 or more spectators to ATOH 2024.Weather during the 2022 show was cloudy with periodic rain and 10 degrees cooler than this year.
“The weather was picture-perfect both days; I definitely think it was a contributing factor in the great turnout we had over the weekend and I’m thankful so many took advantage of the beautiful Alaska summer days and spent them with us,” said Morgan.
“Even though hundreds of us worked countless hours over the past two years to pull this off, it was so worth it to be able to show our appreciation to this community and we hope we inspired you as much as you inspire us,” Morgan said. “We are truly grateful and blessed to be a part of this community that embraces us and treats us like family; this is a special place.”
While Arctic Thunder Open House 2024 concluded Sunday, the ATOH 2024 team is discussing what went right and what we can do better in 2026.
For forthcoming information about ATOH 2026, visit https://www.arcticthunderopenhouse.com/event-info/ or https://www.jber.jb.mil/Info/Arctic-Thunder-Open-House/