Key points

• The Show is back this year after a two-year break, with a new name: the “Melbourne Royal Show”. 
• The Show is at the Melbourne Showgrounds from Thursday 22 September to Sunday 2 October. 
• Ticket prices this year are $45 an adult and kids are free with more than 450,000 people expected to attend.

The return of Melbourne’s show after a two-year, pandemic-enforced break is being overshadowed by the threat of foot and mouth disease and soaring prices, with some rides expected to top $25 and show bags costing up to $32.

Three year old Harry Watts at the launch of the Melbourne Royal Show on Thursday. The laughing clowns game will cost $8 this year. Credit:Jason South

Children will enter for free but even the price of the humble Bertie Beetle show bag – a go-to for budget-conscious parents – has increased from $2 to $3.

At the launch of the Melbourne Royal Show on Thursday, chief executive Brad Jenkins was keen to focus on the excitement of the event returning after a 1087-day break.

Jenkins said he wanted to provide a “great-value show for families”, with the state government pledging $2 million to provide free entry for kids and a $25 evening ticket for performances by bands including Sneaky Sound System, The Veronicas and Baker Boy.

Despite the deals, prices have increased across the board with adult tickets costing $45, up from $42; ride prices up from $6 to $8 for basic rides; and show bags rising from $2 to $3 for a Bertie Beetle bag and from $30 to $32 for a Pokemon or Harry Potter-themed bag.

“You can’t put a price on a child coming to the show and that beaming smile when they see that cute little baby lamb for the first time or get on a ride for the first time or go into the show bag hall and select their show bag,” Jenkins said. “You can’t put a price on it, it’s magical.”

Ride operator Damian De Jong, owner of Action Events, said ride prices would be up this year as the sector battled rising insurance costs and increases across the board; from petrol to the fluffy toys used as sideshow prizes.

He said the cost for bigger rides would rise from $20 to $25.

“Everything’s going up, inflation is killing all of us,” he said “Our insurance has gone up 400 per cent in the last two years. There’s only one insurer who will cover amusement rides in Australia.”

The show is also having to grapple with the looming threat of foot and mouth livestock disease with staff working with Agriculture Victoria to minimise biosecurity risks, following the outbreak in Indonesia.

Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney and Victoria’s chief vet, Graeme Cooke.Credit:Jason South

Victoria’s chief veterinary officer, doctor Graeme Cooke, said his team was reviewing biosecurity risks every day and that there were no plans to cancel the show, despite some producers requesting it.

“Our advice may change over time,” he said. “But currently we are quite happy to go ahead with the organisation of the show. They’re very experienced organisers, they have a very good team who have thought through biosecurity measures in full, and they recognise the responsibility on them.”

When asked if he would consider limiting the animals in the show, Cooke said there was “always a sliding scale” but organisers were not yet close to restrictions.

Agriculture minister Gayle Tierney said Victoria had 300 biosecurity officers across the state providing advice to people on how to minimise the risk of foot and mouth and other threats and was training 1200 staff.

“I think having our agricultural shows come back provides an opportunity where the Victorian public can be become more educated on the biosecurity threats that we have in this state,” she said.

Professor of Biosecurity Risk and Applied Statistics at the University of Melbourne, Andrew Robinson, said agricultural shows offered the possibility of an infectious disease moving between farms but also offered an “unparalleled opportunity” for community outreach.

“Agricultural shows should be put in the context that they may provide some risk, but also it is an opportunity to reach out to the public and community and prepare them for what might happen under a biosecurity response,” he said.

The Melbourne Royal Show is at the Melbourne Showgrounds from September 22 to October 2.

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