Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Having a Bal at historic show..
THE Royal Ulster Agricultural Society and Ulster Bank have officially kickstarted the countdown to this year’s 150th Balmoral Show.
Building on the success of last year, the first four-day event in recent years, it returns to Balmoral Park from May 16-19.
The four-day event will feature more than 650 trade stands, the NI Food Pavilion featuring the best of local food and drink producers, hundreds of competitions and classes, and a wide range of family entertainment and attractions.
This year the show will also be extending its footprint with an additional 4,000 sqm of exhibition space.
Replacing the former cattle marquee, a new, permanent covered exhibition space will be erected and will house the cattle at this year’s Show.
To commemorate the show’s 150th year, a special anniversary marquee will host an exhibition of photography, souvenirs and artefacts from a bygone era of agriculture and farming in Northern Ireland complete with a walkthrough timeline taking visitors through the years.
RUAS chief Colin Mcdonald said: ‘“With the increase in size and scale of the Show, new attractions and our 150th anniversary plans, 2018 is shaping up to be a big year.
“We are thrilled to have Ulster Bank on board again as our principal sponsor, their support has played an integral role in enabling us to grow the show.”
Complementing the anniversary celebration, Ulster Bank is also celebrating a landmark year as this will be the bank’s 10th Balmoral Show as its principal sponsor.
Commercial director Nigel Walsh said: “With the 2018 show just three months away, everyone at Ulster Bank is once again looking forward to Northern Ireland’s largest agriculture event.
“Each year the show continues to further cement its appeal with our local food, drink and agriculture industries as well as farming and rural communities.
“But we are also beginning to see widening interest in the show from young, metropolitan audiences – a trend which we hope to see increase in years to come.
“As the show celebrates its 150th anniversary, Ulster Bank will also celebrate its 10th year as Balmoral Show principal sponsor and our many decades of involvement. We are very excited about this year’s show, and its ongoing crucial role in the advancement of the agri-food industry, and we are looking forward with anticipation to welcoming visitors to Balmoral in May.”
First launched in 2017, the Balmoral Show app for 2018 will soon be available for download for IOS and Android.
A trusty companion, the app has all the latest information and up-to-date announcements on the show as well as a site map and offline stand locater, day planner and the handy “Find my Car” function.