Royal Melbourne Show revamp to entice bigger crowds

The Royal Melbourne Show is a crowd favourite, but organisers are determined to up the ante at the school holiday staple. Here’s what you can expect to see at this year show.

The Royal Melbourne Show moves ahead in leaps and bounds. Picture: Tony Gough

The Royal Melbourne Show is being revamped to lure more people to the famous event.

New attractions this year include a “future” pavilion featuring hi-tech immersive activities, and a Jurassic creatures pavilion offering interactive dinosaur experiences.

The showbags pavilion — the nation’s biggest — will be moved to the centre of the Melbourne Showgrounds site.

Also planned at the show is a twice-daily parade around Town Square, while favourites such as motorcycle and car stunt shows and fireworks will be back.

The Royal Melbourne Show is worth $250 million to the state economy. Picture: Supplied

Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria chief executive Paul Guerra said the show, which starts on September 21, was worth about $250 million to the state economy.

“The Royal Melbourne Show is a celebration of Victoria. The more we can add to it, the more people that come out and experience it, the more reasons we’ve got to be proud of this great state,” he said.

About half a million visitors are expected at this year’s event, but management wants to build on that number as the show’s offering improves.

It also wants to expand use of the showgrounds site at other times to maximise its ­potential as a centre for agriculture, events, exhibitions and wider community use.

 

Artist image of the new Victoria Pavilion. Picture: Supplied

The new Victoria Pavilion — a 1200-seat function space — will open soon, and in early September will host major food and beverage event Global Table. A highlight of that three-day event will be a keynote speech by former US secretary of state John Kerry.

The 1850sq m pavilion will be able to host 1800 guests for cocktail or theatre-style events, and boast state-of-the-art programmable LED lighting that will be used for the first time in Australia.

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The Andrews Government will fund a $1.5 million masterplan for the whole precinct, including options to upgrade or replace old infrastructure, and how best to integrate transport, exhibition and accommodation facilities.

“We need to bring its buildings, facilities and infrastructure into the 21st century,” said Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes yesterday.

Other events at the showgrounds include the Australian Food Awards in September, and agriculture industry conference LambEx 2020 to be held next July.

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