Sapporo Snow Festival crowds recover to pre-COVID levels in 2024

The Sapporo Snow Festival drew 2.39 million visitors through Sunday, with one organizer saying attendance has recovered to pre-pandemic levels after the removal of coronavirus measures.

It is the first time in four years that the annual festival — one of the country’s biggest winter events — was held at its former scale, using three locations in the capital city of Hokkaido.

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The event regularly attracted over 2 million people annually before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the global health emergency forced organizers to hold the festival virtually in 2021 and 2022.

It was held on a smaller scale last year, drawing 1.75 million visitors, according to the festival’s website. This year it ran for eight days starting Feb. 4, with about 190 snow and ice sculptures on display.