Rural Scotland – straight to your screen
It’s time to dig out your best dealer boots, grab your bunnet and head for the Highland Show.
Sitting on your couch at home, that is.
The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) is gearing up for its livestreamed Royal Highland Showcase, in partnership with Royal Bank of Scotland.
Over the week of June 14 to 20 the showcase, a first in the UK, will see the best in livestock judging, equestrian, food and drink and rural skills streamed live online from Ingliston showground in Edinburgh. It was created following the cancellation of the Royal Highland Show earlier this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thousands are expected to tune in to watch farm animals, witness Scotland’s delicious larder and experience the country’s vibrant culture including music, traditional crafts and rural skills – all from the comfort of their home.
Access will be free and with four live streams providing nine hours of action over seven days, the showcase will give the audience an unprecedented view of the finest livestock in Scotland and provide a greater insight into the world of judging.
Hours of on-demand content can also be accessed, with insights not only for the agricultural enthusiast, but for those who might never have been to the show before.
The showcase will include pre-recorded features on the Scottish championships for bread, dairy and handcrafts alongside sheep shearing, forestry and farriery skills and presentations and industry talks.
Educational content from the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) will include videos, activities to do at home or in the classroom, a teacher-focused webinar, and meeting their volunteers.
More than 5,000 schoolchildren have already signed up to participate in the showcase directly from their classrooms.
For food lovers there is a host of celebrity chefs lined up to present live cookery demonstrations.
The chefs selected have all featured at previous shows and come from across Scotland, from Aberdeenshire in the north down to Border country, with a fantastic range of dishes. Chefs include Neil Forbes of Café St Honoré and Craig Wilson, ‘The Kilted Chef’.
The Royal Highland Showcase follows detailed planning in collaboration with the Scottish Government, which provided up to £750,000 in support.
RHASS chairman Bill Gray said: ‘Our farmers never stopped through the pandemic and neither will we. We know how much the show means to our members, the wider agricultural community and the show-going public.
‘This innovative event will act as a bridge between the no-show year of 2020 and the planned 180th show in 2022, the bicentennial anniversary of our first show.
‘I’d encourage everyone to log on for what will be a truly unique showcase of the best that rural Scotland has to offer.’
Strict Covid-19 protocols are in place for staff and participants making the event happen.
All content can be accessed via www.royalhighlandshow. org from Monday June 14.