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Set to run from Saturday 7th to Sunday 15th August, the organisers of the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) are looking forward to the country and city coming safely together for the 2021.

Cancelled last year for only the third time in its 145-year history due to the pandemic, Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA) Chief Executive, Brendan Christou said after such a challenging 2020, the Association was delighted to outline how the Ekka would bring the community back together once again.

Christou advised “the People’s Show is back and since December last year we have been working closely with Queensland Health to plan a COVID Safe event for the community to enjoy.

“There is wonderful community sentiment for the show; our exhibitors, competitors and the public can’t wait to welcome the return of the Ekka.

“All the unique Ekka traditions the public know and love such as our competitions, animals, food, sideshow alley, kids’ carnival, showbags and entertainment will be on offer once again.”

Christou said as part of ensuring a COVID Safe event, a series of measures will be introduced at the show this year which comply with current Queensland Health regulations and requirements for major events.

Here he noted “the RNA will always act in the best interests of public health, that has been our top priority in planning our comeback show.

“More than 70% of the Ekka is outdoors, from our main arena to baby animal nursery, sideshow alley, kids’ carnival areas and many competition venues which are not subject to restricted numbers.”

The COVID Safe measures include:

• Capped Daily Numbers – The Ekka will run at limited numbers with 45,000 tickets available for sale each day. This is to ensure indoor restrictions of one person to every two square metres are met. There are no restrictions in outdoor areas. This capped daily number may vary closer to the show depending on restrictions in place at the time.

• Online Tickets Only – For contact tracing purposes, the public must nominate the day they wish to come to the show, buy tickets online and disclose full contact details. With limited tickets available and to avoid missing out, the public are urged to go to ekka.com.au sign up and enjoy discounted pricing now.

• Real Time Crowd Monitoring – A camera-based counting system will be in place in major indoor pavilions to ensure the one person to every two square metres indoor requirements are met. The monitoring will be available for the public to view in real time on screens and on an app. This system will advise the public of capacities inside pavilions to assist with customer experience. There are no restrictions in outdoor areas. More than 70 per cent of the Ekka is outdoor, so these restrictions only affect indoor pavilions.

• Roving Covid Safe Marshalls – Marshalls will be roving throughout indoor pavilions to assist with capacity numbers and help the public with physical distancing measures. This is not required in outdoor areas of Ekka such as the main arena, baby animal nursery, sideshow alley and kids’ carnival areas and many competition venues.

• Increased Hygiene And Cleaning Measures – There will be increased round the clock cleaning together with more than 300 hand sanitisation stations and hand washing facilities in place around the showgrounds. There will also be round the clock cleaning of high touch areas by specialised Hygiene Officers.

Explaining that ticket prices had been frozen in line with 2018 prices to ensure the Ekka remains affordable for all, while special online discounts will mean prices for family tickets will be the cheapest in almost 15 years, Christou added “it’s vital that ticket prices remain as low as possible, so people are encouraged to return to the Ekka or visit the Show for the first time,” he said.

“Great value discounts are available online together with special Super Saver days which will ensure the public can enjoy Ekka on any budget.”

Anticipating that major events will rebound and be held successfully beyond current lockdowns, Christou concluded “the public support for the recent Sydney Royal Easter Show makes the RNA very optimistic about this year’s Ekka.

“After an unprecedented 2020 we look forward to the people of Queensland coming back together again safely to celebrate our great state.”

As announced in December 2020, this year’s Ekka will open on a weekend in a new nine-day format.

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