Northumberland County Show say next year's event will be 'bigger and better', after it's cancelled due to the pandemic
Video report by Helen Ford
The organisers of the Northumberland County Show say it will come back bigger and better, after the decision to cancel this year's event because of the pandemic.
The roots of the annual event date back almost two hundred years. Most recently, it's been held at Bywell near Stocksfield.
With thousands of volunteers, competitors and traders, this one-day agricultural event usually welcomes over 26,000 visitors from across the NE region, Cumbria, Yorkshire, Scotland and further afield.
The show's chairman, Robert Raine, a farmer from East Woodburn, says the decision to cancel had to be made now, because of the work involved in bringing it together.
Robert Raine said: “It is with a very heavy heart that we have taken this difficult decision, but with another lockdown in place and no sign of restrictions easing, we felt we could not take the risk to public health and the safety of our volunteers and staff.”
The Northumberland County Show has been held in various locations and under different names since the 1830s, and over its one hundred and ninety year history, has only been cancelled a handful of times: during each world war; and for the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001.
Since 2013, the Show has been held in the beautiful grounds and parkland surrounding Bywell Hall, near Stocksfield, the home of Lord and Lady Allendale and their family.
Maintaining a positive outlook, Robert added, “The Queen’s birthday celebrations next year give us the perfect platform to plan for an extra-special Northumberland County Show. In a break with tradition, the Show will be held on Bank Holiday Friday, 3rd June 2022, which is a Bank Holiday. With a two year break behind us, we will all have something very exciting to look forward to and it will be absolutely spectacular!”