Southern Decadence returns to New Orleans for 2025 celebration

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Southern Decadence is considered one of the key anchor festivals in New Orleans, bringing in tens of thousands of visitors from all across the world.

“It’s just blossomed into a really important weekend for the city, and we’re looking at 70% occupancy in the hotels Friday night and Saturday night,” New Orleans & Co. Public Relations Associate Vice President Mary Beth Romig said.

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The influx of tourists makes preparations even more intense than usual for many of the bars on Bourbon Street.

“We actually start preparing a month in advance, so you can’t even walk into our store room right now. It’s top to bottom with all kinds of products: beer, water, High Noon, everything you could think of completely stocked up; and we do that a month in advance. We do it so that we’re ramped up for it,” Bourbon Pub & Parade General Manager Mike Bryant said.

It seems that the preparation pays off, as the celebration sees millions in revenue brought into the city each year.

“For us, it’s our biggest. It’s bigger than Mardi Gras for us as a rule. For us, in the French Quarter, especially our bar scene, the LGBTQ community, it’s a very big celebration. So, we definitely look toward that for economic coverage through the slow periods,” Byrant said.

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This economic boost coming at a time like August makes it so much greater due to the lack of activity going on in the city during the summer.

“To have that ability to count on Labor Day weekend for this kind of economic impact, and influx and shot into the arm of the economy, is really important on an annual basis,” Romig said.

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