A limited number of tickets for the 2021 Royal Highland Show, which will run as a scaled-back event due to Covid-19 restrictions, go on sale tomorrow.
The show’s organisers, the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS), say they are determined to go ahead with next year’s event from June 17-20.
The society was forced to cancel the four-day event this year due to the pandemic, which together with the loss of income from other events at the Ingliston showground near Edinburgh left a £6 million black hole in its finances.
It says a scaled-back version of the show will go ahead in 2021 and there will be the opportunity to “scale up” the event if changes to government coronavirus restrictions allow.
“We have left no stone unturned in our planning for what will be the best possible celebration of our 180th show,” said RHASS chairman Bill Gray.
“Yes, there will be special measures we have had to factor in, but that won’t take away from what will be a vitally important showcase for the sector – we all need this more than ever as we emerge from this challenging year.”
RHASS chief executive Alan Laidlaw said the society was working in close partnership with the Scottish Government and City of Edinburgh Council to ensure all necessary guidelines were in place to enable to the show to go ahead.
He said: “It is important that we ensure that the event will remain a true reflection of the industry and will therefore feature the key pillars of this much-loved event, including food, livestock, showjumping, education, rural skills and, of course, the camaraderie of coming together to network and socialise.
“The reality is that there will be less people, but for the lucky people that get a ticket, they will not be disappointed. That is our absolute commitment.”
A society spokeswoman failed to confirm how many show-goers the society was planning to allow to attend the 2021 show, which usually attracts 200,000 visitors across the four days.