This story is sponsored by Harrogate BID
Despite the cost of living crisis, the 2023 Great Yorkshire Show was a sell-out with the rain appearing to have a bigger effect on sales than the economic climate.
The UK’s largest agricultural show saw 140,000 people pass through its gates over four days this week.
The four-day event sold out two weeks in advance even though ticket prices increased, setting you back £32 for an adult or £80 for a family. By comparison, they cost £29 and £75 last year.
Alistair Nixon, chief executive of Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the farming charity that organises the show, said:
“It is a difficult time – cost of living means prices are going up all the time and we do have to reflect that in our prices.
“However, we support our farmers as much as we can through the show, and I’ve seen the same level of loyalty this year as with any other year.”
Mr Nixon explained the charity “has hit its target and done what we needed to do” when asked if the economic state had caused a dip in sales.
Show director Charles Mills added:
“Everywhere I’ve been it’s been very busy.
“I’ve seen a lot of people with food and drinks, or walking out with bags, so that must be a good sign.”
Clothing trader Joules noted sales to be “around the same as last year”, but said its demographic “tend to come to the show and only shop here during the show”.
The Pavilions of Harrogate‘s outdoor bar saw record sales on the Thursday, but Friday’s rain slowed down final sales.
Fraser Holmes, event manager of Pavilions, told the Stray Ferret:
“In terms of what we’ve taken this year, I believe it to be around the same as last year.
“Thursday was our record day ever for sales – the sunshine really helped with that – and Friday’s rain then brought things back down a bit.
“People are still spending money I think.”
The show also saw a record number of sheep class entries that surpassed 3,000, as well as over 1,000 cattle and equine entries too.
Find more information on Yorkshire Agricultural Society here.
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GALLERY: Royal visit marks start of Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Show
This story is sponsored by Harrogate BID.
A royal visit, a new fashion show and two national cattle championships were among the highlights of day one of the Great Yorkshire Show.
The Duke of Gloucester was taken on a tour by show director Charles Mills and Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Jo Ropner.
Despite the downpour, spirits remained high and the annual show is in full swing.
Thousands gathered to eat, drink, compete, and observe as celebrities were spotted and trophies were won.
Industry leaders and MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee discussed species reintroductions across the country, while TV star Adam Henson led a talk on the challenges faced and opportunities available in farming.
The Yorkshire Pelargonium and Geranium Society took home the first competitive cup of the show for the best exhibit in the garden show, and the President’s Award of the Curzon-Howe Rosebowl went to Harrogate’s very own Horticap.
In the sheep rings, two new breeds, the Badgerface Texel and Castlemilk Moorits, were competing, while next door the shearing stage saw the new Sheep to Chic Fashion Show, featuring the best of British wool garments worn by professional models and volunteers from the rural community.
Tickets for the show have now sold out. Tickets will not be available on the gate. The opening times are 8am to 6pm on all four days. To see what is happening on which day, visit here.
You can relive more day one highlights here. Below is a gallery.
Sheep young handler Benjamin Brook, aged 5.
Winners of the Doncaster Cup: The Yorkshire Pelargonium and Geranium Society
TV star Adam Henson
Cheese judging. Pic: GYS website.
TV personality Amy Garcia and weatherman Paul Hudson preparing for the pole climb. Pic: GYS website.
Keep an eye on our website or on social media for daily updates at The Great Yorkshire Show.
Read more:
- As it happened: Day 1 at the Great Yorkshire Show
- Harrogate businesses offering unmissable discounts to attract punters during Great Yorkshire Show
This story is sponsored by Harrogate BID.
Anyone needing to get around Harrogate and the surrounding areas is being advised to plan ahead this week.
Tens of thousands of visitors are expected at the Great Yorkshire Show across its four days, and there will be changes on some routes to accommodate the additional traffic.
North Yorkshire Council’s highways area manager, Melisa Burnham, said:
“We work closely with the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, its traffic management company and National Highways to agree a traffic management plan.
“We always ensure that roadworks on the main routes are kept to a minimum, with only emergency work permitted. Highways officers will monitor traffic on the routes and are available should they need to support the traffic management company.
“Whilst every effort is made to ensure that traffic flows efficiently, visitors to Harrogate should expect delays at peak times and plan their journeys accordingly.”
Here is your handy guide to the key points to remember from Tuesday, July 11 to Friday, July 15 – whether or not you’re going to the show.
Roads
A661 Wetherby Road: one way westbound from the Kestrel roundabout to Rudding Lane from 6.30am on each day of the show. This reverses in the afternoon from 2pm until 8pm, taking traffic away from the showground. If traffic eases earlier, the one-way system may be taken down before then.
A658: One way inbound towards the showground from Thistle Hill near Knaresborough to the Kestrel roundabout, from 6.30am for the mornings only. No one-way system during the afternoon.
B6164: Traffic arriving from the north via the A1(M) will be directed off at junction 46, before going through Kirk Deighton and on to North Deighton on the B6164. It will then turn right onto the A661 near Spofforth and follow the road to the showground.
A59 Skipton Road: Show visitors will be directed from the Curious Cow roundabout onto the B6161 to Beckwithshaw, where they will turn onto the B6162 Otley Road.
Parking
Traffic approaching from the west and north will follow the ‘blue zone’ directions to the car parks via Hookstone Drive.
Those coming from the east via the A661 will be directed down Rudding Lane into the ‘green zone’ car parks.
Traffic arriving from the south will follow ‘brown zone’ directions along the A658 towards Rudding Lane and into the car parks from there.
Public transport
A free shuttle bus operates every 10 minutes from the bus station in central Harrogate to the white gate at the showground. It begins at 7.20am and runs until 7pm.
Passengers arriving in Harrogate by train will be able to catch the shuttle bus. Those arriving at Hornbeam Park can follow a signposted walking route to the showground gates.
Walking and cycling
Pedestrians can follow signs from Hornbeam Park to the showground.
There is secure cycle parking at the blue and white gates for people arriving on two wheels.
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Bid to improve WiFi at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground
A 25-metre telecommunications tower could be installed at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground to improve WiFi.
The showground attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year but many often struggle to get online.
A planning application has been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council by telecommunications company EE to erect a lattice tower that will host three antennae, two dishes and several cabinets.
A design and access statement submitted by telecommunications technology company Harlequin Group on behalf of EE to the council said the proposal would not only boost WiFi at the showground but also provide “much improved and upgraded coverage to surrounding businesses and residents who currently see limited indoor coverage”. It added:
“It should be noted there is no 5G coverage within the immediate or surrounding area whatsoever.
“The area, in particular the Great Yorkshire Showground, has been subject to coverage supplied by way of a temporary emergency solution during events.
“The proposal will be tucked within a building corner, meaning that the equipment will be obscured on two of the four sides.”
The proposed location, according to planning documents.
EE claimed the enhanced network “should be considered critical infrastructure within the UK to support the local community in perpetuity”. It said:
“At present, a temporary mast is brought out during events such as the Great Yorkshire Show that take place within the showground. Whilst this has been a solution that has worked adequately in the past, currently there is an ever-growing demand to find a more permanent solution.
“Local residents and businesses who currently experience little to no coverage, as well as visitors to the showground, have been pushing for a fixed solution that would consistently meet the demands of the surrounding area.”
‘Vital to ensure latest connectivity’
Allister Nixon
Allister Nixon, chief executive of the Great Yorkshire Showground told the Stray Ferret:
“The Great Yorkshire Showground is an intrinsic part of the local community that hosts numerous events throughout the year and brings significant employment and money to the area.
“To ensure that we can continue to develop and evolve with the changing demands of customers and business, it is vital to ensure that the latest connectivity is present; the proposed lattice tower is centrally located and has been designed to allow multiple operators to host on the same infrastructure.
“The public benefit goes beyond the Great Yorkshire Showground, with the proposal able to provide upgraded coverage and capacity to the surrounding residential properties, commercial properties, visitors and businesses in the locale. It is therefore believed that this proposal enables the provision of future connectivity for numerous individuals and companies.”
Councillors will decide whether to approve the planning application.
Great Yorkshire Showground vaccine site to reopen for just two weeksHarrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground will reopen as a coronavirus vaccination centre for two weeks in December, it has been announced.
The venue – which was used as a vaccination site for most of the year before closing in August – will reopen at the beginning of December for an expected busy period of booster jabs, the NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group said.
A CCG spokesperson said:
“Plans are in place to run pop-up covid vaccination clinics at the Yorkshire Showground at the beginning of December for two weeks, as this is when we are anticipating a peak in the number of patients eligible to receive their booster jabs.
“In the meantime, patients over 50 and those in other priority groups who are now eligible for their booster dose, who would prefer not to wait until December, have a number of additional options they may wish to consider, including booking an appointment at an alternative vaccination centre via the NHS National Booking Service or 119.
“Patients can also use this service to book a first or second dose of the vaccine if they’ve not yet taken up the opportunity to be vaccinated.”
The announcement comes after an NHS official last week told a press briefing that the showground would reopen as a vaccination centre, but did not say for how long.
Read more:
- Great Yorkshire Showground vaccine centre to reopen
- Great Yorkshire Showground vaccination site closes in June
- Exclusive: Great Yorkshire Showground gave 117,000 vaccines in six months
More than half of all over-50s across the UK have now received a booster jab and the government is urging greater take up to ease pressure on the NHS ahead of a difficult winter due to covid pressures and long backlogs.
There is also a focus on getting more 12 to 15-year-olds vaccinated after the recent record levels of infections in Harrogate was linked to young people.
High infections rates
The high case rates led to health officials urging schools in the district to reintroduce face masks and postpone some activities to try keep infections under control.
Every headteacher was also contacted with the offer of extra support and advice.
The Great Yorkshire Showground operating as a vaccine site in February.
Latest Public Health England figures show just over 16% of 12 to 15-year-olds in the Harrogate district have received their single vaccine dose.
An NHS North Yorkshire CCG spokesperson said:
“We continue to encourage people to get vaccinated. The coronavirus vaccines are safe and effective.
“They offer the best protection against covid.”
Figures also show a total of 130,232 people in the Harrogate district have received their first vaccine dose and 121,915 people their second.
That equates to 83% and 77% of the population respectively.
No figures are available for booster jabs.
No vaccinations at Great Yorkshire Showground for 19 days this summerDuring 19 days this summer there will be no covid vaccinations at the Great Yorkshire Showground due to other events taking place at the site including the Great Yorkshire Show.
The Yorkshire Event Centre at the showground has been the district’s mass vaccination site since the inoculation programme began in December. The NHS has an agreement to use the site until August 13.
Yorkshire Agricultural Society revealed last week that the GYS will take place over four days from July 13 to 16.
A spokesperson for the NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group said they will schedule vaccine delivery and appointments around the dates when the site is unavailable.
They added other sites such as the former Lidl in Knaresborough and Ripon Racecourse will still be available on these days, supply permitting.
A spokesperson said:
“We have a lease agreement in place for the Yorkshire Events Centre which retains the site until August 13. During this time we will schedule clinics at the YEC in line with available vaccine supply and demand as we have done so far in the programme and these will not necessarily take place every day, particularly as demand reduces as we move through the vaccination cohorts.
“Up until then there will be 19 days on which we will be unable to use the Hall for vaccination clinics and we will schedule our vaccine delivery and appointments to accommodate those dates. However other sites such as the Knaresborough Pharmacy site and Ripon Racecourse will still be available on these days (supply permitting) so there will continue to be flexibility of vaccine delivery across the Harrogate area.”
Read more:
- No covid vaccines for under-50s at Great Yorkshire Showground in April
- ‘It’s been superb’: Nidderdale welcomes Pateley Bridge vaccination centre
Heather Parry, managing director of the Yorkshire Event Centre, added:
Doubts about future of 2021 Great Yorkshire Show“We are very proud to serve the NHS during the pandemic by providing a safe and secure space for the vaccination centre at Yorkshire Event Centre.
“Our agreement with the NHS has always been based on the understanding that when it was safe for events to resume at the Showground, we would work together to find the best solution and I’m delighted that we have been able to do so.
“I’m full of admiration for the NHS staff whose efforts mean thousands of local people have benefited from the vaccination programme here so far.”
The future of next year’s Great Yorkshire Show is uncertain as the Harrogate venue that hosts the event begins a huge mass vaccination project.
The NHS began the programme on Tuesday at the showground. It is expected to last several months, which raises questions about the viability of the 2021 show, which is provisionally scheduled for July 13 to 15.
Heather Parry, managing director at Yorkshire Event Centre, told the Stray Ferret is is “looking at all the options at the moment” for the 2021 event.
Ms Parry said:
“It’s a changing picture. It’s obviously a big event with lots of people so whether we do it the same way or a different way, we are keen to do something if we can.
“We don’t know how many months we’re in this for. We would like to run a Great Yorkshire Show, absolutely, whether it’s the same or different, we don’t know. We are doing lots of planning.”
Read more:
Ms Parry said none of the contingency plans involved moving the event, which has been held at the Great Yorkshire Showground since 1951, to a different site.
The show was cancelled in 2020 due to coronavirus. A virtual event took place instead with three days of video footage.
Ms Parry added that at least 200 other events have been cancelled this year at the Yorkshire Event Centre and the Pavillions of Harrogate venue, which is also on the showground, due to the pandemic.