The Royal Welsh Agricultural Show, Llanelwedd, Wales, UK. 25th July 2012. Record numbers of visitors are being reported on the third day of The Royal Welsh Agricultural Show due to the extraordinary heat-wave in Mid Wales. Photo credit: Graham M. Lawrence/Alamy Live News
The First Royal Welsh show was held over 2 days in August 1904 on 'Vicarage Fields' in Aberystwyth and attracted 442 livestock next five Royal Welsh Shows were also held in Aberystwyth. Four years later, in 1908, 23 special trains comprising 224 cattle trucks and horse-boxes arrived at Aberystwyth together with 100 passenger coaches ferrying visitors from far and wide to the Royal Welsh was on its way. Nowadays, livestock entries number around 8000 and 20,000 cars a day plus hundreds of stock lorries and trailers converge on the showground in Mid Wales for the annual four-day event which has grown into the most popular agricultural show in Britain. The attendance at the first show staged at Llanelwedd in 1963 was 42,427. These days it regularly exceeds 200,000, reaching 227,360 at the centenary show in 2004 – the year, incidentally, that the Royal Welsh welcomed its sixth millionth visitor to Llanelwedd – and peaked at a record 240,140 in 2006. The success of the Royal Welsh Show has spawned two other great events – the Winter Fair which was founded in 1990, and the spring Smallholder and Garden Festival which made its debut on the showground in 2003, which is now called the Spring Festival. Both have grown rapidly in stature and importance and are among the most popular attractions in Wales. Today, the role of the modern Royal Welsh Show is a rounded one. As well as its principal function of showcasing the cream of Welsh livestock and the high quality food and drink produced in Wales, it encompasses the wider spectrum of farming and rural life and successfully bridges the gap between town and country. It provides something to interest everyone through its kaleidoscopic range of activities including forestry, horticulture, crafts, countryside sports, and a 12 hour programme of exciting entertainment that continues throughout each of the four days of the event.
Size: 5250px × 3487px
Location: Llanelwedd, Powys, Mid Wales,UK
Photo credit: © Graham M. Lawrence / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: agricultural, animals, competion, contest, festival, fun, horse, hot, royal, show, summer, wales, weather, welsh
