The Suffolk Show is Back! We spoke to Bruce Kerr , Suffolk Show Director about this year’s event, and what visitors can expect, and how 2022 will be an extra special show thanks to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
We’ve had two years without the show, how do you think the public has reacted to its absence and return? The show has been missed by so many people, and we have had numerous messages of support since taking the decision to cancel back in the Spring of 2020, I think most people are genuinely excited by the show’s return this year and having been incredibly understanding over the last two years. Many businesses have changed and adapted during the pandemic, how has this affected the mix of exhibitors who are attending? The Suffolk Show is the biggest two-day event in the county and the opportunities it offers for face-to-face interactions cannot be substituted. Undoubtedly there will be businesses who have changed the way they operate, as we have had to do here, and there will be some businesses who were here in 2019 who are no longer exhibiting. Equally there are many new ones coming in to replace them.
Have you seen any impact on ticket sales as a result of the pandemic, and have you had to introduce extra measures for visitors, livestock, staff and exhibitors to ensure everyone remains safe? Pre-show ticket sales have exceeded all previous years, so we are anticipating good numbers at the time of writing. We have carefully reviewed our layout and offering to all those attending the show, and made a number of changes, including the introduction of free car parking, much more in the way of contactless transactions, and changes to layout to provide wider avenues, and more space to try to eliminate overcrowding.
2022 is the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. What is happening to mark the occasion at Trinity Park, and what do you think the lasting legacy of that will be in Suffolk? Back in November 2021, we planted a new Jubilee Avenue of 70 trees to commemorate Her Majesty the Queen’s reign, which will provide us with a lasting legacy here at Trinity Park. At the Show, we have a unique exhibit planned, spread over nearly two acres of the showground, which will demonstrate a huge amount of what has happened within the county during the Monarch’s reign with the help of over 70 different organisations from Suffolk. At the conclusion of events in the Grand Ring on the second day of the Show (Wednesday 1 June) we have a Jubilee Pageant planned, which will involve over 1000 participants from many different organisations based in the County. The Pageant will start with the arrival of the Red Devils British Army Parachute display team, and conclude with the arrival of the Suffolk Torch Relay, which will be received by the Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk at the commencement of the Jubilee celebration weekend.
4 | SCRUTTON BLAND | AGRICULTURE AND FARMING
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