The Royal Show is over for another year and while the gate numbers show a record attendance, it will be some time before the Royal Agricultural Society gets a true indication of how much money it made from the event.
This year, the show’s 100th at the Claremont Showgrounds, 483,761 people went through the turnstiles, surpassing the previous record attendance of 460,893 in 1997.
It is understood that there were also considerably more free tickets on offer in 1997 than there had been in previous years.
However, that record attendance may not necessarily translate into record gate receipts.
This year’s show had the added incentive of the State Government providing free entry for children under 15 years of age.
RAS CEO Bruce Rathbone said: "This year 67 per cent more children have visited the Royal Perth Show than at the same time last year".
This was also despite the final day of the show, October 9, coinciding with the Federal election and the start of Spring in the Valley.
On October 3, 85,650 people visited the show. This was the busiest Sunday on record and the biggest crowd in 26 years.
It is no small undertaking to stage the Royal Show.
About 2,400 volunteers help it run smoothly each year.
So where does the money the RAS raises from the show go?
"All revenue earned from the Perth Royal Show goes straight back into the event," Mr Rathbone said.
"In addition, the RAS maintains and upgrades the Claremont Showgrounds, provides support for affiliated agricultural societies and funds scholarships to agricultural colleges in WA."
In terms of staging the Royal Show, the society spends about $1 million on coordinating and staging 42 competitions.
It also spent about $1 million in 2003 on maintaining the showgrounds.
Insurance costs have gone up considerably. This year the society budgeted $482,000 for insurance and almost half of that was allocated to public liability insurance.
The RAS spends about $600,000 on free entertainment for the show.
Over the past 10 years it has spent about $16 million on capital improvements to the showgrounds.
The RAS estimates that it will have to spend a further $5 million to fund improvements to the showgrounds over the next few years.
One of the challenges facing the society is finding those extra funds.
