“We’ve got it!” Success at the Royal Norfolk Show

The Kangaroo Kid in the Grand Ring at the Royal Norfolk Show on his quad bike. Photograph Simon Parker (Image: Archant)

E-ticketing again provided a faster and more efficient way for people to buy entrance to the show and bosses are delighted with the results.

2013 Royal Norfolk Show.People watching the Kangaroo Kid in action in the grand ring.Picture: James Bass (Image: (C) Archant Norfolk 2013)

Jake Humphrey stirred up the crowds as president, providing a new and fresh outward face of the show, and it's predicted that ticket sales reached more than 90,000.

Greg Smith, chief executive of the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association (RNAA), spoke yesterday of the moment he knew all the hard work had paid off.

He said: 'I was walking through the show early afternoon on the second day, the sun was out and you could barely move for people - I just thought - we've got it!'

And Jake Humphrey had an action-packed couple of days in his top role, proving popular with showgoers.

Mr Smith said: 'He and his wife Harriet have loved it and really threw themselves into their roles with great style and engagement.

'He helped the show engage with a wider audience including younger people and community groups.'

Despite wet weather hitting the showground late afternoon on the second day, Mr Smith was pleased with the footfall.

He said: 'We were a little disappointed the rain came earlier than expected, we knew it would come at some point but we were hoping it would hold off. However we were pleased to see it didn't deter the crowds.

'I'm happy and confident we've got the right numbers and can predict that we have exceeded the 90,000 target,' added Mr Smith who said e-ticketing is at the show to stay as it proved successful in providing last-minute ticket sales.

He added: 'We had a last-minute surge on online sales on Wednesday evening with around 2,000 tickets sold as people decided later in the day to go to the show which meant that Thursday was a bigger day with close to 50,000 people through the gates.'

The only disappointment at the show was the absence of the parachute display on the second day of the show due to bad weather.

Mr Smith said: 'Having run to time for two days, the final competition took longer than usual and although we secured the Norwich Falcons 15 minutes additional airspace, in the end they had to call it off because of the weather - sadly it's what can happen in the show.

After the success of the entertaining Kangaroo Kid in the Grand Ring, Mr Smith promised that next year would bring more surprises as the show attempts to stay fresh and exciting. He said: 'We had a great team and I'm very proud of our achievements and what we've all done.

'We'll have reviews and meetings with the teams and stewards to find out if there are any further improvements for next year, but we think we've got a good set of ingredients and mix them well.'

Success continued outside of the Grand Ring as the show's art exhibition reported sales of more than £26,000.

Marcia Paterson, chairman of the exhibition said: 'It's excellent, we've certainly topped last year's figures, we had an exceptional day on Wednesday when it was really busy.'

For the chance to win an iPad fill out the Royal Norfolk Show visitors survey at www.royalnorfolkshow.co.uk/survey

See our websites www.edp24.co.uk and www.eveningnews24.co.uk for more reports, pictures and videos from the show.

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