Royal Easter Show attracts more than 900,000 visitors

With the 2011 Sydney Royal Easter Show having wrapped up for another year, show organisers the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) have revealed a remarkable set of statistics for the show they describe as "as Australia's favourite event."

Even with crucial weekend days affected by torrential rain, the RAS highlighted bumper crowds at the event with the Show's final attendance exceeding 900,000.

RAS Chief Executive Peter King said the RAS set out to engage, educate and entertain, and leave families with fond memories of their trip to the Sydney Royal Easter Show, stating "we brought in new entertainment ï¾ the Wild Ride of Cobb & Co, the Lumberjack Show, Fonzy and Goliath ï¾ and we staged our first ever Youth in Agriculture Day to highlight the many opportunities for young people in the agricultural industry.

"This year we saw the diversity of Showgoers continue to grow, reflecting the desire for the whole community, from all walks of life, to gather around a 'communal campfire'. The Show is that event. "

King added that "when (Showgoers) return next year the Sydney Showground will look very different."

Early next month construction begins on the Sydney Showground's Main Arena to transform it into a 25,000 boutique stadium with new covered grandstands, new seating and a massive new video scoreboard.

The existing stands and facilities will be refurbished and the home of the Sydney Royal Easter Show will also become the home-ground match venue for AFL's newest club, the Greater Western Sydney Giants.

King concluded "we will be able to offer Showgoers an even better experience in 2012 with more dining options, better corporate entertainment and greater comfort for Show patrons."

The stadium will be ready for use for the 2012 Show starting on 5th April and for the GWS Giants first home-ground match in May 2012.

Facts, Figures and Highlights from the 2011 Sydney Royal Easter Show:

• Showgoers at the Coca-Cola Carnival enjoyed 57 rides and 47 games;
• 20,000 brave Showgoers came out the other side of the newest and scariest attraction – Hollywood Horrors;
• The top four rides were the Hollywood Horrors, Taipan Rollercoaster, Crazy Spinning Coaster and the Skyview Wheel.• Showgoers at the Coca-Cola Carnival enjoyed 57 rides and 47 games;
• 20,000 brave Showgoers came out the other side of the newest and scariest attraction – Hollywood Horrors;
• The top four rides were the Hollywood Horrors, Taipan Rollercoaster, Crazy Spinning Coaster and the Skyview Wheel.

Showbags
• Keen to take home a piece of the Show, punters purchased 1.7 million Showbags. The clear favourites were Harry Potter, Coca-Cola, Madison, Dare, Tim Tam's, Dora the Explorer and Hello Kitty. 

Entertainment 
• Woodchopping athletes chopped through 3,000 blocks of wood;
• The Toyota V6 HiLux Heroes drove 500 laps of the Commonwealth Bank Arena, travelling 1,120 kilometres over the 14 days of the Show;
• The Wild Ride of Cobb & Co raced more than 30 laps in the Commonwealth Bank Arena, with 64 horses.

Agricultural experiences 
• The Show was home to the famous District Exhibit display where 50,000 pieces of fruit and vegetables were judged over five days by 50 judges from across NSW;
• The Dairy Farmers Farmyard Animal Nursery hosted a whopping 1,000 animals with 500,000 hands petting them over the course of the Show;
• More than 1,200 animals were on Show in the Grand Parades;
• More than 10,000 showgoers had a hands-on experience milking cows in the Dairy Famers Milking Barn; 
• 220 cows were milked over the two-week period, making 5,000 litres of milk, butter and cream; 
• Our show farrier was kept busy in the horse pavilions, with over 100 horses to shoe
• In the Sheep Pavilion, 220 sheep were shorn, yielding 8 bales of wool; 
• The Poultry Pavilion was kept busy with 3,000 entries; 
• Education was the key at the Food Farm; 400,500 people passed through the doors and more than 33,000 copies of the Junior Farmhands Activity Book were given away for free; 
• New for 2011 was Youth in Agriculture Day. 300 young people from across Australia came along to help promote young people's involvement in agriculture. 64 young men and women were put through their paces in the entertaining Young Farmer Challenge.

Food
• Over 20,000 tubs of fresh fruit were sold at the District Exhibits; Hungry Showgoers also gobbled up 500kg of honey, 20,000 apples, 3000kg of watermelon and 10,000 cheese packs; 
• The Australian Women's Weekly Kitchen presented 182 live cooking demonstrations; There were 45,000 individual tastings, using 2 truckloads of fruit and vegetables, 60kg of chicken, 60kg of quail, 150kg meat and 120kg pork; 
• In excess of 36,000 scones were made and sold with tender love and care by our favourite ladies from the Country Women's Association; 
• In a clear show of support to Australia's aquaculture industry, 300,000 oysters were downed and 60,000 prawns were eaten at the De Costi Seafood stand in the Dome; 
• A mountainous 4,000 turkey legs were sold, around 30,000 corns on the cob were eaten, a gigantic 300,000 bags, sticks and tubs of fairy floss were devoured and 15,000 cupcakes were enjoyed along with 218,000 cups of coffee; A whopping 201,500 Dagwood Dogs were eaten, 30,000 cheese on a stick, 50,000 strawberries and 100 tubs of ice cream were used to make the famous strawberries and cream; 
• Debuting at the Show was the chip on a stick – 5,000 of these were eaten and 35,000 traditional lemonades washed everything down. 

Competitions 
• The Show offered the richest agricultural Show prize pool in Australia – over $750,000 in cash prizes and 15,000 trophies, certificates and medals were awarded over the 14 days of the Show;
• Exhibitors were kept busy preparing 4,622 entries for the Sydney Royal Arts Show. 

The Sydney Royal Easter Show is recognised by the NSW Government for its economic and social contribution to Sydney and the state of NSW.

14th April 2011 - SYDNEY ROYAL EASTER SHOW KICKS OFF WITH NEW SHOWS, NEWS RIDES AND AN IPHONE APP

4th April 2011 - EASTER SHOW CARNIVAL OPERATORS CONCERNED OVER RIVAL EVENT

9th November 2010 - NSW GOVERNMENT BACKS SYDNEY SHOWGROUND UPGRADE

27th April 2010 - 900,000 VISITORS ATTEND 2010 SYDNEY ROYAL EASTER SHOW