England's premier agricultural show, The Great Yorkshire Show, takes place on Tuesday 9, Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 July, 2013. More than 130,000 visitors are expected to flock through the gates for an entertaining and informative day experiencing all aspects of farming and country life. This will be the 155th Great Yorkshire Show.
The event is a shop window for the agricultural industry as well as a great day out for the family. The venue is the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate.
Visitors can enjoy:
· Food Hall with some of the country’s finest food & drink
· Fashion shows with national and regional designers
· Music from a range of bands including The Yorkshire Volunteers Band
· Cookery theatre
· Garden Show
· Top class show jumping and equine classes
· International sheep shearing competitions
· Demonstrations of country skills – including dry stone walling, fly fishing,
· gundog training
· Hundreds of stands for plenty of shopping
...and more than 5,000 of Britain’s best cattle, sheep and pigs competing for the
· coveted championship awards.
The Great Yorkshire Show is organised by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.
Parking is free and extensive.
Tickets bought in advance
· Adult: £21
· Concession: £20
· Children: £9
· Family: £54
Tickets bought on the gate
· Adult: £24
· Concession: £23
· Children: £11
· Family: £62
The Great Yorkshire Show was born in October 1837 when a group of leading agriculturalists, led by the third Earl Spencer, met at the Black Swan Hotel in Coney Street, York to discuss the future of the farming industry*.
The result was the decision to form an organisation - the Yorkshire Agricultural Society - whose aims were to improve and develop agriculture and hold an annual agricultural show of excellence.
Thus the wheels were set in motion and the first Yorkshire Show was held in Fulford, York, in 1838. Attendance figures were not recorded until 1842 when the Show was held in York. The figure was 6,044. In the early years, in common with other shows, the Yorkshire Show did not have a permanent site and moved to showgrounds around the county. It was held in all the main centres of population - no fewer than 30 towns in the three ridings.
Then in 1950 the innovative decision was taken to build a permanent showground. The Harrogate site was purchased and its imaginative layout and excellent facilities quickly resulted in it becoming a role model for others.
In 1992 the decision was made to remain on the Harrogate site and an ambitious £10m re-development programme was embarked upon. Since then the Showground's prestigious conference and events venue, the Yorkshire Events Centre and Pavilions of Harrogate have gone from strength to strength. In addition the number of events staged on the Showground year round has increased dramatically - it is now busy 12 months of the year.
* British Home Stores now stands on the site of the original Black Swan Hotel in York but a plaque on the wall outside records the fact that the Society was formed at the Hotel.