Key findings
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Twin Cities Pride celebration attendee spending: In 2018, Twin Cities Pride attendees spent an estimated $7.4 million while attending the festival. Of this, visitors spent an estimated $3.6 million to attend the event. Residents spent $3.8 million. Visitor spending represents new money drawn into the economy.
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Twin Cities Pride organization spending: In 2018, Twin Cities Pride spent $548,860 to host the event. Major expenditures included staffing, professional and business services (advertising, insurance, information technology), and event logistics.
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Total economic contribution: In 2018, the Twin Cities Pride Celebration generated an estimated $13.4 million of economic activity in Hennepin County. Of this, $5.9 million was new money brought into the economy by visitors. Local residents also expressed support for the event, creating $6.2 million of economic activity.
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Sensitivity analysis: This analysis assumes 200,000 attendees, which is based on Twin Cities Pride figures. If attendance were actually 150,000, total economic contribution would fall to an estimated $10.4 million, $4.4 million coming from visitors. If attendance were actually 250,000, total economic contribution would increase to an estimated $16.4 million, $7.3 million coming from visitors.
About this report
The Twin Cities Pride Celebration is an annual summer festival held at Loring Park in Minneapolis. The festival celebrates the LQBTQ+ community. The two-day event includes exhibitor booths, food vendors, and live music and performances. Its Sunday parade is a major feature of the celebration.
The University of Minnesota Tourism Center conducted a survey of 2018 Twin Cities Pride Celebration attendees. This information is valuable for understanding the event. Twin Cities Pride was also interested in understanding the event’s economic value. Thus, the organization hired University of Minnesota Extension to perform an economic impact analysis. This report summarizes the results of the analysis, using Tourism Center survey data on attendee spending to quantify the economic value of the Twin Cities Pride Celebration.
Reviewed in 2022