Royal Agricultural Show ends after 170 years, out of date and out of cash
The Royal Agricultural Show, for years Britain’s leading farming event, was consigned to the history books yesterday, without a single member of the Royal family present.
Instead of the promised grand finale, the showground at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, was more akin to a ghost town, with the dark clouds and sporadic showers only adding to the gloom.
The demise, after 170 years, reflects the difficulty the show had in keeping up with the changes in British farming: the increasing interest in regional produce, the organic revolution and the move to more specialised farms.
Many stalwarts had been predicting the show’s end for years and blamed the august and stuffy Royal Agricultural Society of England for not driving through change and selling the world of food and farming to the wider public. The problem was a simple one: the society was unable to promote the four-day event as a “must do” fixture of the summer season.
Read entire article at The Times (UK)
Instead of the promised grand finale, the showground at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, was more akin to a ghost town, with the dark clouds and sporadic showers only adding to the gloom.
The demise, after 170 years, reflects the difficulty the show had in keeping up with the changes in British farming: the increasing interest in regional produce, the organic revolution and the move to more specialised farms.
Many stalwarts had been predicting the show’s end for years and blamed the august and stuffy Royal Agricultural Society of England for not driving through change and selling the world of food and farming to the wider public. The problem was a simple one: the society was unable to promote the four-day event as a “must do” fixture of the summer season.