Hawke's Bay bids to keep Royal Show in Hastings

Then Prime Minister John Key was one dignitary to visit a Royal Show in Hastings, in 2015. Photo/File

The Hawke's Bay A and P Society expects to know in less than four weeks whether its show will continue to be the Royal Show after the 2017 edition is held in October.

General manager Brent Linn says the society's bid for further Royal Shows in Hastings will be heard at the Royal Agricultural Society conference in Wanaka on June 24-25. No more than one other bid is expected, most likely from the Canterbury Show.

Once the holder of the Royal Show every five years in rotation with four other shows, Hawke's Bay is coming to the end of a three-year contract to run the Royal Show, following the failure of similar contracts with shows in Christchurch, Hamilton and Feilding.

Mr Linn said Hawke's Bay will make a bid for Royal Show hosting from 2018 onwards, although it's expected that if successful it would be for no more than the 2018, 2019 and 2020 shows before another contract would be needed.

"We are quite comfortable with a three-year or even five-year term," he said. "We have proven Hawke's Bay is a good home for the Royal Show, and we want to continue with that."

The continuation of the Royal Show in Hastings heightens the possibility of Hawke's Bay hosting a Royal visit at some stage, but in keeping with protocol Mr Linn said: "We can't confirm or deny a member of the Royal family will be coming here. Of course it has to fit in with itineraries."

Princess Anne is the president of the Royal Commonwealth Agricultural Society, and was the last Royal to visit a Royal Show in New Zealand, in 2008.

The application for continuation of the Royal Show in Hawke's Bay, where the A and P Show was first held in 1863, comes as the Hawke's Bay A and P Society plans major changes to its format, introducing a night show on October 19 ahead of the Peoples Day the following day at the start of a four-day Hawke's Bay anniversary and Labour Day holiday break.

Mr Linn said that while details are yet to be released, it will be a night with a floodlit central attraction in the oval and other events and attractions for varying age groups across the showgrounds.