Royal Show is cancelled official

3 April 2001



Royal Show is cancelled official

By FWi staff

THE Royal Show, Britains premier exhibition of food, farming, and the countryside, has been cancelled because of the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

Mike Calvert, chief executive of the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE), said: We wish that we never had to make this decision.

The show, held every July, usually attracts about 160,000 visitors to its National Agricultural Centre show-ground, at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire.

It is the first time the show has been cancelled in peace-time since 1859.

Organisers had considered holding the event without livestock – a situation not seen since 1952 when Britain also suffered a foot-and-mouth outbreak.

This time round, it was felt inappropriate to go-ahead without farm animals because the show is meant to be an exhibition for the whole industry.

Although he was forced to cancel the show, Mr Calvert said he was determined to help the industry to look forward and plan for the future.

A special exhibition called AgriVision, focussing on the future of farming, will be held on 5-6 December in the show-grounds exhibition halls.

Other cancelled events include Muck 2001 (Cheshire, 25 April), the Leicestershire Show (6 May), and the North Somerset Show (Bristol, 7 May).

The Ayrshire Show (11 May), the Newark & Nottinghamshire Show (12 May) and the Shropshire & West Midlands Show (18 May) have been cancelled.

The Northumberland County Show (28 May), Surrey County Show (28 May), Staffordshire County Show 30 May) have also been called off.