Business gets on board to back this year’s Lincolnshire Show
Big business and small local companies are coming together to help Lincolnshire’s agricultural heritage and education to flourish.
They are all backing the annual County Show, organised by the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society to boost awareness of countryside matters, and the vital role that agriculture plays in the local economy.
It will be the 127th Show, the 52nd to be held at the Grange-de-Lings 200 acre site and the two-day event will take place on Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd June 2011.
Billed as Lincolnshire’s big day out, the Lincolnshire Show is an agricultural show, one of the few county shows to remain true to its heritage, and last year attracted more than 68,000 visitors and some 650 exhibitors – both numbers that the organisers hope to beat this year.
“The Show is for everyone living in the countryside, working in the countryside and those who enjoy the countryside,” explained the Show’s business development manager Laura Luty. “It’s really great that local businesses are keen to back us in this way. As a charity, it’s sponsorship like this which allows us to continue to develop the Show. As well as helping us to keep costs down, such as visitor prices, we also inject the sponsorship support into educational activities, such as our Schools’ Challenge, which encourages young people to get involved.”
She added: “Many of our sponsors come year after year, because they know it has a commercial value as well as supporting their place in our local community. We have had an excellent response so far but are still talking to companies that are active across Lincolnshire and the East Midlands region.”
Clydesdale Bank is once again the major sponsor for the Show, Langleys Solicitors and BBC Lincolnshire are jointly sponsoring the equine area, which attracts 2000 entries each year across show jumping, mountain and moorland ponies and ex racehorse classes.
Plans for this year’s Show will be announced soon, but organisers say visitors can be confident they will experience another exciting line-up at the renowned county event, with entertainment that will appeal to all tastes and ages.
As well as the show’s traditional agricultural theme – with events including pig racing, show-jumping, the spectacular Grand Parade of the best of the county’s livestock in the Clydesdale Bank Main Ring and the vintage to modern day agricultural machinery display – there will also be a host of other stalls and activities. Last year’s line up included medieval cooking and world-class jousting knights, through to advice on horticulture and sustainable living.
Sponsor of the Lincoln Red Cattle once again this year is The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation plc (AMC). Adrian Cawood, regional agricultural manager said: "AMC view Lincolnshire as one of the most important and foremost farming counties, and the Lincolnshire Show demonstrates the great commitment and enthusiasm towards farming within the county.
“When the opportunity arose three years ago to sponsor the native breed we were very happy to support it and are delighted to continue sponsor the Lincoln Reds again in 2011."
SHOW IS BIG EARNER
The Show is a big earner for Lincolnshire and research carried out last year showed that a massive £44m is being injected into the national economy thanks to the events held at the Lincolnshire Events Centre at the county’s Showground, attracting over 215,000 visitors a year.
More than 80 per cent of exhibitors return each year because of the amount of business they do at the Show and it is estimated that every £1 spent at the Show generates £20 in the local economy. The Show and other events at the Showground boost local hotels and B&Bs, creating demand for 18,400 overnight stays locally.
“The annual County Show is a major tourism attraction, alongside the city’s Cathedral and Castle,” said chief executive Mark Farmer, “It’s also a big earner for the economy, although it’s not just about the Show nowadays, as we have expanded the Showground site to become a major year-round regional conferencing and outdoor events centre.”
Images and captions from the 2010 County Show are available for download at :http://www.flickr.com/photos/55414176@N07/sets/72157625298289904/
Who’s backing this year’s Show:
| Company: | Sponsoring : |
| Jackie Strange
Private sponsor |
Shire Horses |
| BBC Lincolnshire | Equine Ring |
| Brown Butlin
A trading arm of Farmacy PLC |
Young Farmers’ Trailers |
| Woldmarsh
Farming agricultural buying group, Louth |
Machinery Parade |
| Spaldings
Agricultural and groundcare replacement parts, tools and accessories |
Machinery Parade |
| Streets
UK Top 30 firm of accountants, Lincoln |
Vice President’s Area |
| E Park & Sons Ltd
Potato supplier |
Schools’ Challenge |
| Farmacy PLC
Agronomy and environmental services to arable sector, Sleaford |
Schools’ Challenge |
| Complete Print Group
Printing supplies |
General support |
| Osborne Refrigerators | Double Harness Scurry |
| Brewin Dolphin
Investment solutions, Lincoln |
Parade of Hounds |
| McKinnells
Solicitors, Lincoln |
Courtyard |
| Langleys
Solicitors, Lincoln |
Ancaster Ring |
| Clydesdale Bank | Main Ring |
| Double M Catering
Catering business, Lincolnshire |
General support |
| Lincolnshire Co-op | Lincoln Longwool |
| Lincolnshire Co-op | Commercial Beef |
| Savills
Agricultural and rural estate agency services, Lincoln |
Roadside Signage |
| Swales Yorkshire Dales Ice Cream | British Charolais |
| Agricultural Mortgage Company Plc
Mortgage finance for land based commercial businesses |
Lincoln Red |
| Robert Bell & Co
Auctioneers and Land Agents, Horncastle, Coningsby, Woodhall Spa and Lincoln |
Pig Interbreed Supreme Champion |
| Masons Chartered Surveyors
Property professionals, Louth |
Interbreed Championships |
| Bang & Olufsen
Sound and vision products, Lincoln |
Screens in the EPIC Centre |
| Saul Fairholm
Chartered Accountants and Auditors, Lincoln |
Grand Parade of Livestock |
ENDS
Media enquiries:
Sarah Poucher at Lincolnshire Events Centre inc Lincolnshire Agricultural Society
spoucher@lincs-events.co.uk - 01522 585501
Maggie Taylor at Prima PR
maggie@primapr.co.uk – 01400 251557 / 0797 3767 602
Editor’s Note:
Lincolnshire Events Centre is a major national conferencing venue, home of the Lincolnshire Show and the groundbreaking EPIC project. Just outside the historic city of Lincoln, the Centre hosts events for 10 to 10,000 visitors on its 200 acre showground site and 3000 square metres of indoor exhibition and venue space.
Outdoor events include the flagship Lincolnshire Show, antiques fairs and horse trials, attracting over 200,000 visitors each year. Under cover, there are exhibition halls and conferencing facilities, including the recently completed EPIC centre, the second largest purpose-designed showcase for environmental technologies in the UK, it enables event organisers to reduce, monitor and offset their carbon footprint.
£44m injection that is helping put Lincolnshire on the map
A new economic impact survey has shown that a massive £44m is being injected into the national economy thanks to the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society’s events centre, which attracts over 215,000 visitors a year.
That’s equivalent to £120,000 and over 600 visitors for every single day of the year.
The annual County Show attracted 65,000 visitors in 2010.
Antiques fairs are held six times a year, each attracting 3000 antiques traders from across Europe
Other events range from a reception for 600 guests at an Asian wedding through to smaller events, like board meetings and staff training days.
And, according to the research, which was backed by West Lindsey District Council, the Centre is making a massive contribution to both the local and national economy.
It’s good news for the county against the backdrop of economic recession and public sector cuts, and, says the chief executive Mark Farmer, a big justification for the £1m injection of investment made by the County Council and £250,000 by West Lindsey District Council in 2007, with around half of the income generated staying in the East Midlands economy each year at a value of £22m.
The study was carried out to help guide future growth plans for the Lincolnshire Events Centre, and it demonstrates how successful the Lincolnshire Events Centre has been in attracting big events and boosting tourism.
“The annual County Show is a big earner for the economy and a major tourism attraction, alongside the city’s Cathedral and Castle,” said Mark Farmer, “But it’s not just about the Show nowadays, as we have expanded to become a major year-round regional conferencing and outdoor events centre.”
The £7m EPIC Centre at the Showground was opened two years ago, providing a conference and events facility, capable of hosting conferences, balls and seminars, and is designed also as an educational resource and state-of-the-art events centre for up to 1,900 people. Environmental sustainability is at the core of these recent developments, and is a defining theme of a proposed master-plan now being drawn up for the Showground.
The Show and other events at the Showground boost local hotels and B&Bs too, creating demand for 18,400 overnight stays locally. Around 20% relates to the Show, the balance being drawn by major events such as Arthur Swallows antiques fairs, which draw 3000 traders from across the UK and overseas and attract 72,000 visitors every year. Other big draws are Grapevine, the major national religious festival, the Lincolnshire Steam and Vintage Rally, the Warner Motorhome event and this year, the British Motorcycle Federation season finale.
For the future, the Centre’s forward booking list also includes a number of high profile outdoor music concerts from big name promoters.
As well as the direct economic impact of the Lincolnshire Show, the researchers found that there was a positive financial impact on the schools, churches, charities and voluntary organisations in the area, through their involvement in the annual event.
The Lincolnshire Events Centre is the commercial operating arm of the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society.
ENDS
488 words
Media enquiries:
Laura Luty at Lincolnshire Events Centre inc Lincolnshire Agricultural Society
lluty@lincs-events.co.uk - 01522 585501
Maggie Taylor at Prima PR
maggie@primapr.co.uk – 01400 251557 / 0797 3767 602
Editor’s Note:
Lincolnshire Events Centre is a major national conferencing venue, home of the Lincolnshire Show and the groundbreaking EPIC project. Just outside the historic city of Lincoln, the Centre hosts events for 10 to 10,000 visitors on its 200 acre showground site and 3000 square metres of indoor exhibition and venue space.
Outdoor events include the flagship Lincolnshire Show, antiques fairs and horse trials, attracting over 200,000 visitors each year. Under cover, there are exhibition halls and conferencing facilities, including the recently completed EPIC centre, the second largest purpose-designed showcase for environmental technologies in the UK, it enables event organisers to reduce, monitor and offset their carbon footprint.