Renton has 'total confidence' festival crowds will return to normal levels following large drop in attendance

Attendances at next year’s Cheltenham Festival are predicted to bounce back after what the course’s boss Ian Renton described as “one of the most memorable festivals in our lifetimes”.

Renton said he had “total confidence” spectator levels would rebound in 2024 with early feedback from customers showing the festival “provides good value for money” when measured against other major sporting events.

Capacity was reduced on each day of this year’s meeting to 68,500 after 280,627 people attended across the four days last year. Crowds of 73,754 and 73,875 on the final two days of last year’s festival were the largest single-day figures ever recorded for the week.