Once again, thousands of visitors from far and wide have enjoyed the annual Royal Welsh Show.

With perfect show weather, the large number of exhibitors and visitors alike were able to take in the atmosphere and enjoy this incredible event at their leisure.

Speaking on the last day of the show, Mr David Lewis, Chair of the RWAS Council remarked “I have been involved with this wonderful event for over 40 years and I am still amazed every year at the standard and quality of the livestock on display. This year in particular the Limousin’s stole the show by winning nearly all the championships in the beef classes, included the coveted Team of Five title with a stupendous group of animals.

“It was heart-warming to know that every animal winning a Fitzhugh Championship title was exhibitor bred. This just shows that it’s not all about the money and proves that the standard of breeding and farming in general is extremely high.

“We would like to express my thanks to the many stewards and officials who have once again delivered a seamless show, which was ran smoothly from beginning to end.” added Mr Lewis

Visitors to the show flocked from across the globe, with over 1000 of our international show-goers registering at the International Pavilion from over 34 countries from as far afield as Australia, Canada, South America, Russia, Kenya, Kazakhstan and Nepal, to name just a few.

Steve Hughson, Chief Executive of the RWAS commented how successful the introduction of e-ticketing had been: “Rolled out for the first time this year, the e-tickets were a great success, with over 12,000 visitors purchasing them online and benefiting from the discounted pre-show prices and avoiding the queues at the gate.”

Other digital advances this year included the improved telecommunications during the show. “We have worked hard in conjunction with Welsh Government, BT and the service providers, in the run-up to the show to improve the mobile phone signal on the showground.” explained Mr Hughson “It is testament to those negotiations that for the first time the showground benefited from increased coverage, including 4G signal, with three temporary mobile phone masts from Vodafone, EE and O2.”

The Royal Welsh Show continues to attract large numbers of business and political leaders, all eager to use the show as a place to meet and do business and this year’s has been no exception, firmly cementing the Royal Welsh show as one of the most important agricultural events in Europe.

Rounding off the four-day event Mr John Davies, Chair of the RWAS Board of Directors said “The number of high-profile visitors at this year’s show, from far and wide raises the profile of not only the society, but also of Wales and the Welsh agricultural industry across the world.

“It was a joy and a privilege to welcome such a principle and key political figure such as Phil Hogan, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, to the show.

“The Royal Welsh Show represents and all that is good about agriculture and the rural community.”