The familiar scent of farm animals wafting through inner city Brisbane will return when city welcomes the Ekka back after two years of COVID cancellations.
Key points:
- The Royal Queensland Show returns on August 6 this year
- The Ekka, as it is affectionately known, was cancelled in 2020 and 2021
- Entries for the various agricultural competitions have already opened
Entries are still being received and judging has begun for many of the Royal Queensland Show competitions.
April 28 marks 100 days until the 2022 event returns to Queensland’s capital.
Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA) chief executive Brendan Christou said there was “a lot of confidence in the industry, particularly the beef sector”.
“With borders now open across the nation, we are looking forward to strong interstate entry numbers as well,” he said.
“After two years without an Ekka, we can’t wait to reunite the country and city at the state’s biggest and most loved event.
“Since 1876, more than 33 million people have come together to celebrate what makes this state great.
“The Ekka’s rich traditions form the heart of the show in a true celebration of agriculture.
“Show visitors will enjoy all their traditional and unique show favourites, including animals, competitions, rides, showbags, food, entertainment, music and fireworks.
Mr Christou said organisers hoped for a “bumper year” in 2022 after a public outpouring of support in 2020 and 2021 for the RNA’s pop-up Ekka Tastes Drive Thru outlets.
The Ekka’s famous strawberry sundae, sales of which go to medical research charity The Common Good, will be available this year at the Ekka site in Bowen Hills.
The Common Good CEO Michael Hornby said the charity’s biggest focus now was to encourage volunteers to return to the Ekka and help raise funds to improve health care.
“The biggest challenge is we rely heavily on volunteers, and a lot of volunteers we haven’t seen for two years — that’s about 2,000 people,” he said.
“If you work for a business and want some team building opportunities, there is no better way to do that than spending four hours together selling ice creams to kids.
And fans of the ABC’s Bluey and Bingo will be able to see the cheeky cattle dog pups in a family-friendly show.
First agricultural champion named
In February, Stanthorpe’s Jim Baxter was named winner of the Ekka’s iconic Giant Pumpkin Competition with his 130-kilogram gourd.
He now has the Champion Heaviest Pumpkin of Show title and $1,450 in prize money.
“It took me about four months to grow, I used plenty of water and manure and no synthetic fertilisers,” Mr Baxter said.
“I grew six vines in total, each vine had one pumpkin on it, the key is to keep the water up to them each day.”
Some of the giant pumpkins will return to the Brisbane Showgrounds in August, to be displayed in the Agricultural Hall.
COVID safety at the Ekka
With infections remaining at around 8,000 per day in Queensland, the Ekka will follow relevant state and federal health guidelines to keep visitors safe, Mr Christou said.
“As a major event operator, public health and safety is our number one priority,” he said.
“We maintain very high standards of hygiene and have comprehensive cleaning measures in place across the showgrounds.
“There are more than 300 hand washing basins and hand sanitising stations throughout the showgrounds.
The Ekka has been held every year since 1876, except for 1919 during the Spanish flu pandemic, 1942 when the grounds were used as a World War II staging depot, and 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first royal show was held in 1921 when the prefix was granted under the warrant of King George V.
“Ekka” is Queensland slang for exhibition.
The Ekka will run for nine days from August 6-14.
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