The Show will go on!

The Royal Highland Show has carved a unique niche over nearly 200 years and is now renowned as one of Scotland’s most iconic events, showcasing the best of rural life during four days every June.

It’s always a hands-on and vibrant day out for all ages, contributing millions to the economy while attracting nearly 200,000 people to Scotland’s biggest outdoor event. This year, as ever, it will be celebrating the best of Scottish rural life – with a difference. That’s because it will be a ‘behind closed doors’ event showcasing Scotland’s wonderful food and drink, a host of countryside pursuits, educational workshops, a wide variety of business opportunities, showjumping, shopping and entertainment – all virtually.

In partnership with the Royal Bank of Scotland – an enduring union which started in 1981 – this year’s show becomes the Royal Highland Showcase and it promises to be as exciting as ever as it moves online, with seven days of judging, exhibitions and showjumping live-streamed from the showground between June 14-20. This will be further enhanced by hundreds of hours of ‘on demand’ programming accessed from the Showcase website www. royalhighlandshowcase.org including chef demonstrations, farrier exhibitions, forestry skills, educational programming from the Royal Highland Education Trust and much more, all designed to make the viewer enjoy the sense of being at the very heart of this dynamic and colourful event.

More than 1,100 livestock exhibitors and nearly 2,000 equestrian exhibitors will draw viewers from across the globe, putting Scottish agriculture centre stage and heralding the longawaited return to major events. Over 5,000 schoolchildren have already signed up to participate in the Showcase direct from their classrooms and educational content will include engaging videos, suggested activities for home and school, a teacher-focused webinar and meeting volunteers.

The wrap-up show on June 20 will be presented by Dougie Vipond and Sarah Mack with a live programme promising a fitting finale to this innovative hybrid event designed by the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) backed by funding from the Scottish

Government. This funding both protects the Royal Highland Show in the long term and recognises the major role it plays in education and the cultural promotion of the Scottish rural and agricultural industries.

The Royal Highland Showcase does drama and excitement like nothing else, with the serious business of farming sitting easily beside the fun of countless engaging rural events. This year’s free online event provides the perfect opportunity to remind long-standing customers why they’ve enjoyed the show for so many years, while also introducing it to a new global audience who can look forward to enjoying it in real life in the not-too-distant future.