High-street prices put dent in Camra figures

20 August 2008

The Great British Beer Festival suffered a 10% decrease in visitor numbers at this year’s show, held at Earls Court from 5-9 August.

Organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), the low attendance figure of 59,000 was said to be in line with the decline in pub visitors, due in large part to growing competition from supermarkets offering heavily discounted alcohol.

On a more positive note, Camra spokesman Jon Howard said that "25-30% of festival goers were women, and with a new women and beer initiative launched at the show, we will look to increase this figure in future years".