Balmoral Show: everything you need to know about this year's spectacle
The famous four-day event will draw in tens of thousands of visitors
Last updated 14th May 2025
The 156th Balmoral Show takes place today (Thursday) at the Eikon Exhibition Centre near Lisburn.
Organisers say the famous food and agri event which finishes on Saturday, is "bigger and better" than ever this year.
With the continued sunny weather, huge crowds are expected and more than 120,000 visitors are expected to pour through the gates.
This year the show will host more than 3,500 head of livestock, 500 trade stands and hundreds of competitions across the 65-acre site.
The message is "get there early" - especially if you are leaving by car and motorists are warned to avoid rush-hour periods for travel.
Operations Manager Rhonda Geary spoke to Downtown Radio & Cool FM last week.
She said that while agriculture is the "core of Balmoral Show" there was so much more to enjoy including horticulture, food and fashion.
"We have a fantastic event planned for this year," she said.
"This year our main arena attraction is the JCB dancing diggers - we haven't had them at Balmoral for over 30 years."
Among today's highlights are: showjumping, sheep shearing and the 'dancing JCB diggers' in the main arena.
During the week visitors can sample local produce from the number of indoor restaurants at the event.