Sunday 28 June marked the final day of this year‘s Pentecost Fair or Sinksenfoor in Antwerp. The country’s largest fair was held at Spoor Oost for the tenth time since 23 May. Despite the extremely hot weather, the fair was able to welcome more than 700,000 visitors. Last year, the fair received 800,000 people.

Going to the Sinksenfoor is an annual tradition for many fair enthusiasts from Antwerp and far beyond. As with every year, the weather was once again a major factor in visitor numbers this year. 

For instance, there was a lot of rain in the first weeks, and during the final week, the fair only opened in the evenings due to the extreme heat. 

Alderman for Markets and Fairs Johan Klaps (N-VA): “Despite the changeable weather, we were able to welcome more than 700,000 visitors to the Sinksenfoor. This shows how strongly this fair tradition lives on among Antwerpians and visitors from far beyond. Moreover, this edition was special because it was the last one on the familiar but bumpy grounds of Spoor Oost. Next year, we will welcome visitors to a completely redeveloped site, which will make the experience even more pleasant for visitors, stallholders, and operators. We are already looking forward to it immensely.”

Old and New

There was once again plenty to experience at the 147 attractions and food and drink stalls. The established favorites guaranteed endless fairground fun, but the new attractions also did particularly well: Thrill Ride Kong, Rolling Rock, and even the simple rope ladder proved to be a great success.