West farm show to become two-day event

A WEST Country agricultural show is to become a two-day event next year.

The Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show in Dorset, pictured, will be extended to ensure its continued success, organisers said.

A record 25,000-plus people attended the one-day event in August, which included livestock parades, equestrian events and live bands. Organisers said the show had been struck by “ever increasing logistical costs”.

Record numbers also meant demand for additional car parking, incurring extra costs created by sourcing space from local landowners, the show added.

Giles Simpson, show chairman and local farmer, told the BBC: “Despite the challenges of an incredibly dry and hot summer, the show was a huge success this year on all levels. However, running a one-day show is a risk and bringing all of this together for a single day is costly and even more so if it rains on that day.”

The two-day show would see the event taken to a “new and even more exciting level in our region”, he added.

“We’ve done the maths and our decision to make the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show a two-day event will help us make it more cost effective and even more financially viable by spreading the running costs over two days,” Mr Simpson said.

The show will run on August 16 and 17 next year.