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Royal Adelaide Show facing event with smaller crowds and fewer carnival rides

Royal Adelaide Show facing event with smaller crowds and fewer carnival rides
May 31, 2021

Planning for the 2020 Royal Adelaide Show in September, organisers are facing having to put a daily cap on crowd numbers while the crisis impacting carnival ride operators will likely see fewer amusement rides in the event’s Sideshow Alley.

With the Show having been cancelled due to the Coronavirus last year, organisers are following the lead of the Sydney Royal Easter Show in planning to manage crowds and ensure social distancing.

As reported by InDaily organisers say they are currently working with SA Health to deliver a COVIDSafe event from 4th to 12th September.

With the event normally attracting up to 500,000 people each year, with between 50,000 to 80,000 people attending each day, a Royal Adelaide Show spokesperson told InDaily “our objective is to bring back the fun and excitement of the Show for the South Australian community, working closely with SA Health for a COVIDSafe event.”

This is likely to include wider aisles to allow social distancing, increased spacing between stalls and rides, traffic control in enclosed areas and increased hygiene measures.

Organisers say they are also considering making it mandatory for patrons to purchase tickets in advance for specific days and to impose an overall cap on how many tickets can be sold each day.

Carnival rides at the Show may well not just be more widely spaced but far fewer in number as an increasing number of rides may not be present due to a failure to secure insurance.

The ongoing difficulties that many show, attraction and ride operators are facing in securing public liability insurance is forcing many to cease operating.

With insurance hard to secure significant class 4 and 5 rides were absent from the Sydney Royal Easter Show, a situation likely to be repeated in Adelaide.

Adelaide’s Sunday Mail revealed last week that the industry, which employs more than 4000 people nationwide, is facing shutdown following the last insurers left the Australian market.

However, Show organisers were confident this September’s event would have the same number and diversity of rides as previous years, while acknowledging there “could be a problem in 2022”.

Showmen’s Guild of SA Secretary Phillip Hamilton said South Australia’s 20 or so ride and sideshow operators were bracing to be left high and dry over the coming year, as underwriters stopped offering public liability insurance to their businesses.

The Australian Amusement, Leisure and Recreation Association is currently seeking to create an industry Discretionary Mutual Fund to underwrite part of their insurance.

Related Articles

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3rd May 2021 - Moving to address industry insurance crisis AALARA releases survey on Discretionary Mutual Fund

23rd April 2021 - 2021 Sydney Royal Easter Show welcomes 800,000 attendees over its 12 days

12th April 2021 - Failure to secure insurance see Australia’s last circus with exotic animals move to retire its lions and monkeys

6th April 2021 - Sydney’s Royal Easter Show 2021 receives $15.1 million in Federal Government support

29th March 2021 - Quayclean shares COVIDSafe plan for 2021 Sydney Royal Easter Show

24th March 2021 - AALARA presents need for Federal Government backing for insurance crisis resolution at Canberra meetings

17th February 2021 - Coronial Inquest hears that Royal Adelaide Show ride had ‘design and condition flaws’

12th February 2021 - Inability to secure insurance forces closure of Barra Fun Park in Townsville

29th December 2020 - Ombudsman’s report calls for action in addressing ‘national crisis’ in insurance coverage

10th December 2020 - Insurance crisis set to force closures of Australian attractions and adventure tourism businesses

15th April 2020 - Coronavirus restrictions see cancellation of 2020 Royal Adelaide Show

7th April 2020 - RNA announces cancellation of Brisbane’s Ekka

4th September 2019 - Rider suffers suspected spinal injury at Royal Adelaide Show carnival

28th August 2019 - AALARA refutes reports of ride safety concerns at the Royal Adelaide Show

27th August 2019 - SafeWork SA highlights inconsistencies in Australian ride regulations ahead of Royal Adelaide Show


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