The solar eclipse reaches totality in Indianapolis
Solar eclipse watchers experienced the moment of totality from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Indiana State Police expected thousands of visitors to view the total solar eclipse. Governor Eric Holcomb even signed an emergency order. But the state did not see nearly the expected number of tourists.
The April 8 solar eclipse was predicted to be a big day for tourism in Indiana, and while in many ways it still was, the crowds weren’t what local officials predicted.
Here’s what happened during the 2024 total solar eclipse.
Read more from the Herald-Times: The day of the eclipse was sunny in Indiana. Where were the crowds?
Bloomington’s numbers were lower than expected
Instead of 300,000 spectators, as many officials had predicted, Bloomington saw tens of thousands, according to early estimates, The Herlad-Times reported.
While the smaller-than-expected crowds allowed the city to escape gridlocked traffic, the surge pricing also prevented some Bloomington residents from leaving their homes and attending local events, including those at Switchyard Park and Memorial Stadium.
At the Bloomington Police Department, officers of all ranks had to work 12-hour shifts. But these were shortened to 10 o’clock as the day progressed and the expected crowds did not turn up.
Nashville also posted lower than projected numbers
Between 50,000 and 100,000 eclipse viewers were expected in Nashville and Brown County, about 20,000 showed up.
Indianapolis saw the most tourists, but still fewer than expected
Indiana State Police told IndyStar in March that they expect about as much traffic for the eclipse as the city sees for the Indy 500, which could be 200,000 to 250,000 attendees.
Claire Clark, senior communications manager for Visit Indy, confirmed that Indianapolis welcomed 125,000 visitors for the eclipse, with representatives from all 50 states and 35 countries.
Why was solar eclipse viewing attendance lower than expected?
According to NASA, the path of totality for this year’s eclipse was between 108 and 122 miles wide, or about 72% wider at the top, than the eclipse in 2017. This year, about 31.6 million people lived in the path of totality , compared to 12 million in 2017.
This year’s eclipse also passed over “more cities and densely populated areas” than in 2017, NASA said.
This meant that people had more options for where to travel, reducing the likelihood of traffic jams for any particular area.
Several Indiana cities reported the possibility of cloud cover during the eclipse, which may also be why fewer tourists came to Indiana, but neither Indianapolis nor Bloomington ended up with clouds blocking views of the solar event.
Closing schools for the day also helped reduce normal traffic in the cities.
Local events, tourism still achieved success despite fewer visitors than planned
Despite fewer visitors than planned, several cities in the state still saw great success.
Airbnb said Indianapolis was the No. 1 most-booked destination within the path of totality, and there was a virtual sellout of hotel rooms Sunday night before the eclipse, Visit Indy said.
Visit Indy also broke its record for the most website traffic in a single day on the day of the eclipse, meaning tourists and locals alike were looking for things to do.
Mike McAfee, executive director of Visit Bloomington, said hotels and short-term rentals are “close to capacity,” although he won’t have final figures until later this month.
IU spokesman Mark Bode said the university hosted “tens of thousands of visitors and students at at least seven separate events,” including “nearly 10,000” at Memorial Stadium.
Katie Wiseman is a modern news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.
