Royal Melbourne Showgrounds
| Melbourne Showgrounds | |
The grand pavilion is the heart of Melbourne Showgrounds
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| Former names | Royal Melbourne Showgrounds |
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| Location | Epsom Road, Ascot Vale, Victoria. |
| Coordinates | 37°46′58″S 144°54′39″E / 37.78278°S 144.91083°ECoordinates: 37°46′58″S 144°54′39″E / 37.78278°S 144.91083°E |
| Owner | Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria |
| Surface | Indoor and outdoor |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1848 |
| Renovated | 2006 |
| Website | |
| www.melbourneshowgrounds.com | |
Melbourne Showgrounds is located in the inner north-western suburb of Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia, next door to Flemington Racecourse. The largest and most flexible indoor/outdoor venue space in Melbourne the Showgrounds is the home of the annual Royal Melbourne Show, as well as major exhibitions, trade shows, and music concerts, including the Supanova Pop Culture Expo, the Caravan & Camping Touring Supershow and MotoExpo.
The venue has also been the selected site for TV and film production and is the current filming location for MasterChef Australia.
It has previously been used for large music festivals – as of 2010, it plays host to Stereosonic until the Festivals end in 2015.
It also was used on the last show on The Police's Synchronicity Tour, their last world tour, before they re-united briefly to play three concerts for the Amnesty International A Conspiracy of Hope Tour and reuniting in the studio.
The 30-acre (12 ha) site at Ascot Vale was given to the National Agricultural Society of Victoria (predecessor of the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria) in 1882. The first Show held the next year and over the next few decades a number of pavilions were erected on the site. During both World War I and World War II the showgrounds were requisitioned for military purposes. The main arena played host to harness racing as well as the annual show; in fact, it was the main harness racecourse in metropolitan Melbourne for almost four decades until the early 1980s, when all major Victorian harness meetings were moved to Moonee Valley Racecourse. During the 1970s the first major attractions were built, such as the 1,800 feet long chairlift, with 112 chairs that covered the journey in 7 minutes. In 1977 the new Government Pavilion was completed, costing $1,800,000 and covering an area of 2,839 square metres. The iconic "Pie in the Sky" was also built the same year, and was heritage listed in 1999.
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