Ticket sales for big show are taking off

4:00pm Saturday 5th July 2008

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Advance ticket sales for the 150th Great Yorkshire Show, which starts on Tuesday, are 40 per cent higher than last year.

Organisers say the visit by the Queen on the final day and a growth in internet bookings have boosted interest.

Bill Cowling, honorary show director, said: “Last year the wet weather in June put a dampener on ticket sales for the show, as people were more reluctant buying tickets in advance.

“This year so far the weather has been much brighter, plus of course it will be a very special show thanks to our 150th anniversary celebrations and welcoming the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh for the first time since her Silver Jubilee in 1977.”

More than 122,000 visitors attended last year’s show in Harrogate. The record was set in 2006 when at 135,111 people attended.

The Great Yorkshire Show is the North’s largest countryside event, drawing visitors from across the region. This year’s attractions include an equestrian display in the Main Ring by the Great Lorenzo and performances by the Queensbury-based Black Dyke Band.

The 30m-high Great Yorkshire Show Wheel will offer views of the surrounding countryside, and for the first time there will be a Small Gardens competition.

This year has seen more than 4,700 advance orders, compared with around 3,300 at this time last year.

Almost half of these have been booked online, whereas in 2007 just a third of pre-ordered tickets were sold via the internet.

Mr Cowling said: “People are increasingly likely to shop online, which is another reason for the increase.

“This year we have targeted farmers in particular. They have been offered special prices as we value their support and we want to recognise that. This has significantly increased our ticket sales.”

“We have also encouraged visitors to buy their tickets in advance as they will get priority entrance to the show, beating the queues, and they also save money on the ticket price. These are very good incentives for booking before the show.

“We know some people may have concerns about traffic at the show, so we are encouraging as many people as possible to travel by train and use the free shuttle buses from the station. We would also like to see lots of people car sharing.”

The show opens on Tuesday and runs until Thursday.