downtown Nashville, including Nissan Stadium, the Nashville Convention Center, Bridgestone Arena, and Riverfront Park. The fairgrounds itself was converted to a temporary campground for attendees. Until 2001, the evening concerts were organized by record labels, with each label choosing which of its artists would be able to perform, and the length of the appearance. Beginning with Fan Fair 2001, these main concerts were grouped instead by record distribution group. This allowed for four main concerts, for Sony, WEA/EMI, UNI, and BMG. The artists are not paid to attend the festival or for their performances during it. CMA Music Festival (since 2004) In 2004, the CMA renamed the event to the CMA Music Festival in order to change negative perceptions, embrace the CMA brand, and expand its appeal. Also in 2004, the ABC network televised the event as a two-hour special known as CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock. The first special, which aired on July 14, 2004, ranked number 16 in viewers, with an estimated 9 million people tuning in. The annual special, re-edited from the three days of events, continues to air on ABC as of the present. A new attendance record was set in 2007 with 191,154 fans attending. Those in attendance participated in more than 100 hours of concerts, 30 hours of organized autograph signings, family activities, celebrity sports competitions, interactive exhibits, giveaways, games and other activities. Over 400 celebrities made appearances at the 2007 CMA Music Festival. The festival went on hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned in 2022. Attendance Through 2000, the CMA Music Festival was considered a sell-out if 25,000 people attended. Attendees span all ages, from infants to the elderly and come from 41 different countries, including Canada, France, Australia, Germany, The United Kingdom, China, Japan, and Russia. After moving to its new, larger and air-conditioned home in 2001, attendance numbers soared, with the 2002 festival drawing 126,000 fans. Attendance slipped slightly the following year, partially because many of the more-renowned country music stars declined to appear at the festival. However, in 2003, attendance was down only 1.7% over the year before, compared to a 25% decline in overall U.S. tourist travel for the same period. The attendance slippage was not permanent; in 2007, a record-breaking crowd of 191,000 people attended the festival. In 2010 and 2011, a record 65,000 people a day were estimated to