Brisbane Exhibition
| Royal Queensland Show Ekka |
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|---|---|
Sideshow Alley viewed at dusk from the John MacDonald stand
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| Genre | Agricultural Show |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | Brisbane, Australia |
| Years active | 139 |
| Inaugurated | 1876 |
| Previous event | 5-14 August 2016 |
| Next event | 11-20 August 2017 |
| Attendance | ~400,000 |
| Organised by | The Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA) |
| Website | |
| www |
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The Ekka is the annual agricultural show of Queensland, Australia. Its formal title is the Royal Queensland Show and it is held at the Brisbane Showgrounds. It was originally called the Brisbane Exhibition, however it is more commonly known as the Ekka, which is a shortening of the word exhibition. It is run by the The Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland.
The Ekka is Queensland's largest and most loved annual event, which welcomes an average of 400,000 visitors each August. It brings the city and country together for a 10 day celebration of what makes Queensland great. The show welcomes 21,000 competition entries, 10,000 animals, a smorgasbord of award-winning food and wine and hours of free family entertainment, including the spectacular night program. The Ekka features a sideshow alley, showbag pavilion and nightly fireworks displays. In 2017, the Ekka will be held from 11 - 20 August.
The significance of the first exhibition held in 1876 was described by locals as the most important event since the separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859.
The first show, held between 22–26 August 1876, attracted 17,000 visitors. The centrepiece of the grounds was the timber exhibition building which housed 1,700 individual exhibits in total. One of the first popular attractions was a timber bridge built by saw-miller William Pettigrew. The show was a spin-off from the famous International Exhibitions being held in Britain and worldwide dating from the Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1851.
A new grandstand designed by Claude William Chambers was open for the 1906 show. It was later named the John Macdonald stand in recognition of a long-serving member of the Royal National Association. In 1920, the show was visited by the Prince of Wales (who later became King Edward VIII) who was asked and gave permission for the name of the association to change to the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland.
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