First held in 1823, the Sydney Royal Easter Show, commonly shortened to The Easter Show or The Show, is an annual show held in Sydney, Australia over two weeks around the

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

period. It comprises an

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

, an amusement park and a fair and combines the elements of each, showcasing the judging of

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

and

produce Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables (grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and g ...

. The

Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales The Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales was founded on 5 July 1822, when a group of Sydney's leading citizens formed the Agricultural Society of NSW, and is "a not-for-profit organisation committed to supporting agricultural developmen ...

is responsible for the event.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

awarded the society and its show the right to use the word "Royal" in its name. The Show is a celebration of Australian culture, from rural traditions to modern day lifestyles, providing unique experiences for everyone. Every Easter, the country and city join together at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, for twelve days of agricultural competitions, animal experiences, live entertainment, carnival fun, shopping and much more. The Show has many competitions, including arts and crafts, photography and cookery, as well as tests of strength and skill such as

wood chopping Woodchopping (also spelled wood-chopping or wood chopping), called woodchop for short, is a sport that has been around for hundreds of years in several cultures. In woodchopping competitions, skilled contestants attempt to be the first to cut or s ...

. The show also has shopping, restaurants, commercial stands, such as a showbag pavilion and exhibits, a

horticultural Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

display, and stage and

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

shows. It also even hosts a breed based

conformation dog show A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a ''breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs '' ...

and

cat show A cat show is a judged event where the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard. Both pedigreed and companion (or moggy) cats are admissible, althoug ...

, which are nationally accredited.

History

The Sydney Royal Easter Show is the largest ticketed event held in Australia and one of the largest in the world. The Agricultural Society of New South Wales (formed a year before the event) held its first Show in 1823. Its initial purpose was of encouraging the colony's rural industries. The site was at Parramatta Park, west of the town of Sydney. It initially showcased horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry. In 1869, the event moved from Parramatta to

Prince Alfred Park Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is sur ...

. In 1881, the Government of New South Wales provided land for the Royal Agricultural Society at Moore Park; the show was held at that venue for the next 116 years. In 1998, the event moved to a new showground within the Sydney Olympic Park precinct at Homebush Bay. The former Sydney Showground at Moore Park has since become

Fox Studios Australia Disney Studios Australia (formerly Fox Studios Australia) is a Film, motion picture and television production facility in Sydney that has operated as part of The Walt Disney Company since 2019. Occupying the site of the former Sydney Showgroun ...

, with associated development known as

The Entertainment Quarter The Entertainment Quarter is an entertainment precinct in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The Entertainment Quarter sits beside Fox Studios Australia in the suburb of Moore Park, located 3 kilometres south-east of the Sydney cent ...

. The show since continued uninterruptedly after 1869, except in 1919 (during the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...

outbreak), the years of 1942 to 1946 (during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

) and 2020 (during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

).Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales-History Timeline
", rasnsw.com, Retrieved 29 March 2010 As per the event's namesake, it starts on the Friday before Easter and ends on the Tuesday following Easter (with closures on Sundays and Good Friday). During that Thursday, it becomes a Children's Day, when goods such as discounted showbags are on sale. RAS Grand Parade 2001 composite

Yielding to pressure from the public, the show was later to be opened on Sundays and Good Friday. With the move to Homebush Bay, the show was extended to 16 days. In 2000 it was reduced to 14 days. In 2007, a revised program took into account changes to NSW School Holidays, the show commencing on the Thursday before Good Friday in order to increase the holiday time for families to attend. In 2017 over 922,000 people attended the show, when about 850,000 were expected. The previous record was 964,000 in 2004. In 2018, the show returned to its traditional 12 days. If Easter falls in March the show is held outside of school holidays. The 2021 show ran from 1 to 12 April, under some restrictions due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 Januar ...

. Attendee numbers were reduced to 60,000 a day to allow maintenance of distancing as well as separate pavilion entries and exits monitored by COVID marshals, maintenance of distancing in queues, and caps on the number of people in arena, pavilions and stands. Venue cleaning was also increased. Attendance was about 800,000. (Inclusive of ticket holders, agricultural and commercial exhibitors, staff, volunteers and other show workers). No cases of COVID-19 were associated with the show. The 2022 show was held from 8 to 19 April. It was officially opened by the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been se ...

Overview

The first purpose of the show is specifically to encourage agriculture. Although other aspects of the show have developed including competitions, entertainment and commerce, the display of the products of rural industry remain of major importance, the RAS claiming 30,000 rural exhibits in 2007. It includes a duck race and a duck fashion show. RAS lining up for the judges

Show cancellations

The Royal Easter Show has cancelled three times — during the

Spanish flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

, the Great Depression and the

— over its almost 200-year history.

Pricing

On-line early bird ticket prices (tickets bought before midnight the first day of Show) have been frozen since 2016. In 2016 a "twilight ticket' was introduced, giving showgoers a budget friendly opportunity to come to the show for a discounted price after 4pm. Tickets for the show could be purchased on-line via

Ticketmaster Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Enter ...

and from

Woolworths Supermarkets Woolworths Supermarkets (colloquially known in Australia as "Woolies") is an Australian chain of supermarkets and grocery stores owned by Woolworths Group. Founded in 1924, Woolworths today is Australia's biggest supermarket chain with a ma ...

where the pass included travel. Tickets were previously available at railway stations and on some buses; however since 2015 this option has been discontinued. In 2015 showbags were priced from $1 to $30. Tickets are only available for purchase on-line for specific days.

Transport

With only limited parking available, most people arrive by passenger transport. The event is classified as a major event by the State Government with

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban-suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 170 ...

operating regular services from Central and

Lidcombe Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north ...

. NSW TrainLink

Blue Mountains Line The Blue Mountains Line (BMT) is an inter urban commuter rail service operated by NSW TrainLink serving the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The line travels west from Sydney to the major town of Katoomba and on to Mount Vi ...

and ''

Bathurst Bullet The Bathurst Bullet is an express passenger train on the Blue Mountains Line operated by NSW TrainLink between Sydney and Bathurst. The service operates from Bathurst towards Sydney in the morning, and returns in the afternoon. History At the ...

'' services make an additional stop at Lidcombe for the duration of the show.Sydney Royal Easter Show 2018
Transport NSW On weekends regular services operate to and from Penrith and Schofields along with a few

Central Coast & Newcastle Line The Central Coast & Newcastle Line is a NSW TrainLink passenger train service that runs along the Main North railway line in New South Wales, connecting the state's two largest cities, Sydney and Newcastle. The service runs from through to o ...

services from

Newcastle Interchange Newcastle Interchange is a transport interchange serving the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It serves as the termini for NSW TrainLink's Central Coast & Newcastle Line and Hunter Line train services, Newcastle Light Rail ser ...

and

Wyong Wyong () is a town in the Central Coast of New South Wales, located approximately 63 km SSW of Newcastle and 89 km NNE of Sydney. Established in 1888, it is one of the two administrative centres for the local government area. Hist ...

. The Olympic Park bus network also operates from various locations across Sydney.

Incidents

On 11 April 2022, the organisers of the show closed one of the rides after the operator failed to secure the four-year-old boy who was on one of the rides on Sunday. It was found via social media that the children on the ride were restrained except for the boy. The ride is currently closed for investigation until further notice Later that night on 11 April 2022, a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death at 8:00pm whilst working at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. That night, a 16-year-old was also stabbed and suffered a leg injury.

Photo gallery

File:Grand Parade 3.jpg, The Grand Parade at the

Sydney Showground Stadium Sydney Showground Stadium (Known commercially as GIANTS Stadium during the AFL Season) is a sports and events stadium located at the Sydney Showground in Sydney Olympic Park. It hosted the baseball events for the 2000 Summer Olympics. The Show ...

File:Grand Parade 5.jpg, The Grand Parade pauses for photographs File:Region Western district.jpg, ''The Western District'' display File:Toyota V6 HiLux Heroes at the Royal Easter Show.jpg, The Precision Driving Team performs in the main arena File:Fun of the Fair rides.jpg, Sideshows and rides are a popular part of the show File:Sydney Royal Easter Show at dusk.jpg, Rides and attractions at the 2013 show File:RAS proudmoment.JPG, The first-place winner in the "Ridden Hack" class is escorted on a lap of honour by a steward File:RAS hack 16 hands.JPG, Hacks of 16 hands and over File:RAS Merino ram.jpg, The

Merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

ram, icon of Australia's rural industry File:RAS Champion fleece 2009.JPG, The Champion Superfine Merino fleece File:RAS judging the Border Leicesters.jpg,

Border Leicester sheep The Border Leicester is a British breed of sheep. It is a polled, long-wool sheep and is considered a dual-purpose breed as it is reared both for meat and for wool. The sheep are large but docile. They have been exported to other sheep-produci ...

lined up for the judge File:RAS Livestock goose.jpg, A goose File:RAS Nubian goat.JPG, A

Nubian goat The Anglo-Nubian is a British breed of domestic goat. It originated in the nineteenth century from cross-breeding between native British goats and a mixed population of large lop-eared goats imported from India, the Middle East and North Afr ...

File:RAS Wessex Saddleback.JPG, A

Wessex Saddleback The Wessex Saddleback or Wessex Pig is a breed of domestic pig originating in the West Country of England, (Wessex), especially in Wiltshire and the New Forest area of Hampshire. It is black, with white forequarters. In Britain it was amalgamated ...

pig File:RAS Kelpie working sheep.JPG, An

Australian Kelpie The Australian Kelpie, or simply Kelpie, is an Australian sheepdog capable of mustering and droving with little or no guidance. It is a medium-sized dog and comes in a variety of colours. The Kelpie has been exported throughout the world and is ...

working sheep

References

External links

*
RANSW – Our Heritage
*

CC-By-SA A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work".A "work" is any creative material made by a person. A painting, a graphic, a book, a song/lyrics ...

] {{Agricultural shows in Australia Annual fairs Festivals established in 1823 Festivals in Sydney Recurring events established in 1823 Royal shows in Australia 1823 establishments in Australia