Australia’s rural agricultural shows are making a comeback, with sponsorship and community engagement surging after two years of pandemic cancellations.
According to Agricultural Shows Australia (ASA) executive officer, Katie Stanley, of the more than 580 shows nationwide, 430 were cancelled due to Covid in 2020, and 273 in 2021.
President of the Agricultural Societies Council of New South Wales (ASC), Peter Gooch, said his organisation supported 192 agricultural shows across the state, and only eight had closed permanently since the council began operating in 1929.
“I can’t see it dying out, the interest is still there,” he said. “It’s still as popular as ever, a few [shows] have had to postpone because of Covid, but most of the shows have started again.”
The president of the Young Show Society, Dyon Sutherland, said the show in the NSW South Western Slopes region “almost collapsed” amid Covid, but will now return “bigger and better than ever” on 18 September 2022.
“The community has really stepped up. We’ve got the highest sponsorship we have ever had. It’s been bewildering,” he said.
Sutherland said the Young Show previously drew up to $5,000 in sponsorship, but this year it received more than $30,000, including personal donations.
“People missed the show … we’ve had more people at meetings than we’ve ever had. We’ve got young kids, the [army] cadets from the local schools stepping up to help us this year.”
Sutherland, who is also involved with the nearby Koorawatha Show, which was held in March, said the result was “unbelievable” and is confident the country shows will survive.
General manager of Sydney’s Royal Easter Show, Murray Wilton, said local agricultural shows play a “vital role in bringing people together” and the economic benefit they bring to regional communities is significant.
“They are the largest social gathering for many in regional and rural areas, providing a much-needed break from the property, a chance to catch up with old friends and a strong sense of community,” he said.
“The social aspect of not being able to come together is by far the greatest impact of show cancellations, however, regional communities are incredibly resilient.”
Wilton is hopeful about the future of country shows but said “it would be a huge loss for the industry and local communities if they did not continue”.
The Coonamble Show in the central-western plains only missed one year because of the pandemic. After cancelling in 2020, it was able to run in 2021 and 2022.
Secretary of the Coonamble Show Society, Emily Ryan, said there is a “very big future” for country shows.
“I believe there always will be a future of shows, especially in rural communities, because it’s a chance to showcase what our rural community is all about.”
Ryan said Coonamble was “hit pretty hard” by the drought prior to Covid and the committee wanted the 2021 show to be “bigger and better” to support the “resilient” community.
Although the show had a higher attendance rate in 2021 and an increase in sponsors in 2022, she said both years were quite similar and a “great success”.
According to Ryan, the agricultural side of the show is becoming more of a drawcard for show organisers, alongside entertainment.
“I think it gives them a platform to sell from, to promote their own business and their own enterprise,” she said. “It’s just giving them the opportunity to be able to utilise an event that is so well known within the community.”
