The Three Counties Show is taking up the mantle as the region’s top agricultural event, writes Kat Keogh.

When the gates closed on Warwickshire’s Royal Show for the final time last year, many feared for the future of agricultural shows in the region.

Hampered by foot-and-mouth disease in 2001, battered by bad weather in 2007 and suffering yet another setback with Bluetongue disease a year later, the annual event soldiered on.

But despite a proud 160-year tradition, falling visitor numbers and a failure to lure lucrative financial partners could no longer be ignored and 2009 saw the last-ever show at Stoneleigh Park.

Now, with the Royal Show a distant memory, another show has emerged as the Midlands’ premier agricultural event.

Last minute preparations are now under way for the Three Counties Show this weekend at Malvern Showground.

Unlike the final Royal Show, which saw visitor numbers fall by 40,000 in its final years, the Three Counties Show has seen demand for tickets soar.

Organisers are bracing themselves for a successful year, with advance ticket sales up 25 per cent and the event has also seen a sharp increase in the number of livestock and equine entries for the three-day celebration of rural life.

Demand for the cattle stalls has been so high that some farmers were forced to join a waiting list for the first time in more than a decade, and organisers had to secure an additional 20,000 sq ft of tentage and borrow an extra 120 cattle stalls from the Devon County Show to ensure that everyone had the chance to show off their animals.

Show spokesman Sharon Gilbert said the interest reflected a “growing confidence” in the farming industry.

She said: “Even though the Royal Show is sadly no more, people still need a platform to showcase their animals.

“When the applications for the cattle stalls first started coming in we thought ‘wow, how are we going to do this’, but we’ve managed to pull it off because we wanted to make sure we could cope with the demand.

“There will be around 730 cattle at the event, which is not far off the numbers we enjoyed many years ago.

‘‘With the all the changes and problems the farming industry has gone through, it feels like we have come full circle.”

Thousands of people are expected to turn out for the event, which is billed as the region’s rural showcase of British food, farming and countryside enterprise. In addition to the livestock and equestrian entries, agricultural trade space is also in demand this year, with organisers filling their quota for trade stands.

The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery will be returning to the show for the first time in more than a decade, and another pull for non-farming folk will be celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of BBC radio soap the Archers.

The diamond jubilee celebrations on Saturday will feature an Ambridge-themed area at the showground.

Fans will also have a chance to meet the voices behind well-loved characters including David and Ruth Archer, Susan Carter and Eddie Grundy. Football fans have also been catered for in the onsite Wyvern World Cup Village, which will be screening matches across the three days, along with football-themed activities for kids.

“There is a real sense of optimism for this year’s show,’’ Ms Gilbert said.

* The show runs from Friday to Sunday. Admission at the gate is £17 for adults and £6 for children. A family pass costs £39.

* For more information visit www.threecounties.co.uk/threecounties