After some confusion over the actual attendance figures at previous Durban Julys, the event’s title sponsor has stepped forward to clarify the numbers.

Earlier reports—ours included—relied on data published by IOL, one of Hollywoodbets’ media partners, which inaccurately inflated the turnout from previous years. We also note with concern and interest that these inflated numbers were never corrected by IOL (via Hollywoodbets), who have consistently touted the numbers to be above 50k including predicting a 50k crowd this year. 

We also reached out to their official media partner, Gameplan Media, in hopes of cross-referencing recent and historical attendance data. While they could confirm 2025’s total, they were unable to provide figures for previous years.

Thanks to Hollywoodbets' direct intervention, we can now confirm the accurate attendance numbers:

2025: 40,192

2024: 35,181

2023: 38,000

2022: 35,000

That means this year’s edition saw the highest post-COVID attendance, despite not reaching the pre-pandemic highs of 50,000-plus that the July routinely drew in years past.

This update underscores a broader trend—attendance at South Africa’s most iconic race day has not yet bounced back to its former scale. While the crowd was healthy by today’s standards, the Durban July continues to operate below its peak pre-COVID figures.

On a separate note, we encountered significant roadblocks while attempting to cover the July’s pre-race events. Access was selectively granted to certain media outlets, leaving others—ourselves included—out of the loop. This is surprising, considering our platform ranks among the most widely read in the South African racing space, supported by strong analytics.