GALLERY: Entries up and strong crowds as North Show looks to build

Friday 25 August 2023

As the curtain came down on the North Show with the Battle of Flowers, organisers were reflecting on a year which saw strong crowds and rising numbers of entries.

Preparations had already begun for 2024 as the floats went around the arena in front of a big crowd.

Entry numbers in the exhibition tents were up by 500 on last year.

“The whole show this year has just been amazing,” said Show Manager Josh Gabriel.

“Such an amazing crowd, really, really busy, and all of our entertainment has gone down an absolute storm.”

The organisers are keen to carry the momentum into the next 12 months.

Crowd numbers on Wednesday were on a par with 2022.

“All of the different stall holders have been nice and busy and our beer tent and mainstage has been really popular too."

“The real focus we are looking for is to make it family orientated. The fact we're able to get children 11 and under into the park for free and there's plenty of free things for them to be doing like bouncy castles, all sorts of interaction. It’s affordable fun things as well, like our huge carousel. It's been absolutely chock-a-block there, from the minute they open to the minute they close.”

There is a team of around 40 people that are central to organising the show, with main contractor Regency Events sorting much of the infrastructure on top of that.

“In terms of planning, we've already got some things booked for next year. It really is a sort of rolling thing. So we'll take anything we've learned from this year to put it into effect for next year and basically slowly but surely build on everything year on year.”