HOUSTON — 2024 turned out to be a record-setting year for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
A total of 1,331,478 people attended RodeoHouston inside NRG Stadium. The overall attendance for the 23-day event was more than 2.5 million. That's the highest overall attendance since 2017.
On Friday night, the Jonas Brothers set a new all-time attendance record with 75,600 people packed into NRG Stadium. That happened just days after Los Tigres del Norte shattered the old record by attracting a crowd of 75,595.
The other hot tickets included a variety of genres, from rock to rap to country.
- Nickelback – 75,036
- Bun B’s All-American Takeover – 75,005
- Lainey Wilson – 74,940
- 50 Cent - 74,729
- Jelly Roll - 73,494
"By offering an original entertainment lineup with 10 new musical acts, great rodeo competitions, world-class agricultural and educational exhibits, and a wide variety of food and fun, the 2024 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo drew more than 2.5 million visitors to take part in our community celebration of Western heritage,” said Chris Boleman, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo president and CEO.
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Records also fell during the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest which welcomed 234,456 people.
The kids who worked hard all year to raise livestock for HLSR were also rewarded with record-setting auctions. A total of $26,198,052 was raised at the junior auction sales.
The grand champion steer, raised by Blaize Benson of San Angelo, went for a whopping $1M, tying the record set in 2022.
"I’m incredibly blessed to be here and am grateful to the man above who put me in this situation,” Blaize said.
Woozy's buyer was led by Don Jordan who set the record in 2022 to celebrate his and the rodeo's 90th birthdays. He came back in 2024 in hopes of keeping that title.
"This year, I wanted to defend the world record that I have, and my fellow buyers were nice enough to help me make that a reality," Jordan said.
Junior market auctions for barrows, goats, lambs and turkeys also set new records. So did the RodeoUncorked Grand Champion wine, which sold for $335,000.
All of the profits raised at HLSR help fund college scholarships for Texas students.
“With the dedication and commitment of our 35,000 volunteers, we proudly upheld Houston’s favorite tradition in support of our $27.3 million commitment to Texas youth and education this year," Boleman said.
Hats off to everyone who worked hard to make this year's event one for the record books!