Showground CEO celebrating the 138th Lincolnshire Show
Organised by the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society, the show is expecting to have over 60,000 visitors, and 6,000 school children take part
Last updated 23rd Jun 2023
Today is about celebrating all that's great about Lincolnshire as the 138th Lincolnshire Show begins.
60,000 visitors are expected to arrive for the Lincolnshire Show over the next two days.
As the 138th year of the event, the show will have new and returning entertainment.
CEO of the showground, Charlotte Powell tells us what the show means to the county:
"I mean it is crucial, it's what we're here for. So, we're a charity; The Lincolnshire Agricultural Society, and where our main goal is to support and build awareness of, agriculture in Lincolnshire.
"It's the show heritage and history, and it's in our roots.
"I look out onto a farm and my family have grown up looking out on farms, or been working with farmers, so, I think most of us all have a real passion about it, and I think it's just building that awareness for everyone.
"So there's so much that we do, and it's so important to us. That's why we do things like the show, so we can really celebrate it."
In a Show first, this year’s event will welcome the inaugural Farmers Weekly Britain’s Fittest Farmer Qualifier. The event will see farmers from across the country go head-to-head in a series of fitness challenges, in the battle to be crowned Britain’s Fittest Farmer.
Meanwhile, taking place at the Main Ring, this year’s event will see the return of the Shetland Pony Grand National which, unlike previous years, will now take place across both days. During the popular fixture, teams of mini professionals - ranging from ages eight to 14 years old - will saddle up to compete for a range of coveted trophies.
Charlotte tells us more about how the event benefits Lincolnshire as a county:
"I think it's a bit of everything; what we want is for our local community to be seen by people, and sometimes, we have to host these sorts of events to get people to come to the county. But I think that's the beauty of it. When the public gets speaking with stall holders, and farmers - it might make people think 'Oh, I might go, and visit that place one day' or, 'I might go to Skegness'.
"So, it is a real integral role that the show plays in the county."
Marking a Lincolnshire Showground first, visitors will be able to navigate the Show on a new, Lincolnshire Show app, which will include an interactive digital map, exhibitor list and full itineraries for each day.