Cash raised to help secure the Royal Highland Show's future
More than £70,000 has been raised to save the Royal Highland Show.
The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS), which organises the four-day event in June is trying to raise £2 million to safeguard the future of the show.
It was cancelled this year due to coronavirus with show organisers confirming they have lost around £2.5m.
The show which started in 1822, is the largest agricultural event in Scotland, attracting around 200,000 visitors each year to the showground at Ingliston, near Edinburgh. Farmers travel to the showground from far and wide, often journeying from across Europe to take part or to check up on the latest agricultural machinery available.
The event, which is attended annually by Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, also attracts families, school groups, students and rural enthusiasts in their thousands.
In just four weeks they have raised more than £70,000 from 300 members of the society and are preparing to stage next year's event.
RHASS chief executive Alan Laidlaw said: "We are committed to putting a show on in 2021 but are conscious that numbers will be nowhere near the 200,000 that there has been before and costs will be higher.
"We are going to lose £2.5m this year and there is nothing we can do about it, but there is not a stone being unturned in terms of opportunities to get revenue from other places," he continued.
"We received £200,000 from the Scottish Government' s 'Pivotal Enterprises Resilience Fund' and have benefited substantially from the furlough scheme.
"We have had to cut our cloth accordingly and have made significant cuts to our staff team in events but are abso - lutely committed to our core show team who are the muscle memory of what the show is about."
He praised the initial success of the £2m fundraising campaign and said planning was now under way for the 2021 show.
Mr Laidlaw added: "It is likely that the income generated next year by the show, upon which the society relies, will not reach the level of a normal year.
"This campaign therefore is about much more than 2021 it' s about securing RH ASS' future and the next 200 years of shows."
When this year’s show was cancelled in March, NFU Scotland chief executive Scott Walker described the decision as a “major disappointment” not just to farmers from across the whole of Scotland but to everyone who visits the show.
He said :“I know that for many of our members the event is a must attend. It is a great social event. Farmers work long hours and often by themselves, events such as the Highland Show are important for socialising and for people’s mental health. As ever y sector of society puts plans in place to mitigate the impact of the disease and social gatherings become much less frequent, I ask that everyone in the farming community looks out for one another. NFUS as an organisation will still be doing all the work our members are expecting.”