RHS Show In Cardiff Attracts Record Crowds

Tue, 21 Apr 2009

The Royal Horticultural Show in Cardiff proved a major success, with thousands of flower and garden lovers from all over Wales and the south west of England attending the three-day event.

Around 18,000 people visited the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) show over the weekend, narrowly missing the existing record of 19,000 visitors in 2005, but topping last year’s 14,000 show goers and exceeding the 15,000 expected by the show’s organisers.

The final day of the event (Sunday April 19th) at Cardiff’s Bute Park attracted around 7,000 people - the highest number on any one day since the show began in 2004.

Gardens that proved a major hit with visitors included the Really Fit Garden where TV presenter, garden designer and newspaper columnist Lynne Allbutt had been exercising all day to raise money for the Marie Curie cancer charity .

Visitors also got the chance to see a daffodil named after the award-winning Welsh singer Duffy . The ‘Duffydil’ flower was available for order at the show, complete with singer’s photograph and signature.

The Royal Horticultural Show is one of the biggest sources of annual revenue for Cardiff Council, with the average visitor spending around £30. The total amount raised by the event last year was £201,000.

Tim Powell, a spokesman for the event, said: "We have been lucky with the weather. There were record numbers yesterday and we are hoping this number will increase next year."

Jonathan Maidment, head of Cardiff Parks, added: "Cardiff was announced as the greenest city in the UK recently. We are a city of parks so to have the show here is special for us in promoting this fact and celebrating it. We are looking forward to next year’s show already."
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