- Premier presents $1.5 million Lotterywest grant to Royal Agricultural Society
- Funding supports three-year strategy to provide greater access to the Perth Royal Show for various community groups
- More than 40,000 community members are expected to benefit from grant including up to 25,000 children on Half Price Kids Day
Premier Mark McGowan presented a $1.5 million Lotterywest grant on Tuesday (September 18) to the Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia to enable increased access to the iconic Perth Royal Show.
In its first year, the grant will support more than 40,000 people to attend the Show's free entertainment and educational activities.
This includes kids, seniors, and children and families who experience disadvantage; regional Western Australians; people with disability; and people from diverse multicultural and indigenous backgrounds who may otherwise not be able to attend.
The target groups and specific organisations to benefit from greater access to the Show have been determined by the Royal Agricultural Society of WA, which will re-engage with these organisations who received free and subsidised tickets in 2017, and extend their reach further into the community.
A breakdown of allocated tickets for 2018 includes:
- Half Price Kids Day - Thursday, September 27, an expected 25,000 children (aged five to 15) to receive half price admission when they obtain their ticket at the gate;
- Half Price Seniors Day - Friday, September 28, an expected 7,500 seniors who hold seniors cards to receive half price admission when they obtain their ticket at the gate;
- Children with disability and their families - 300 families to attend an early opening of the Animal Nursery where attendees will also get a showbag and food voucher;
- Multicultural groups - 10,000 entry tickets (8,000 for multicultural groups plus 2,000 for indigenous groups to attend the Perth Royal Show);
- Indigenous groups - 300 children and carers including a showbag and food voucher; and
- Regional WA families - 2,500 distributed via Regional Agricultural Societies.
The selected organisations have distributed tickets to members of their groups.
The funding grant, over a three-year period, includes $100,000 per year to assist with co-ordination and costs for up to 2,500 volunteers aged between 16-85 years.
The 2018 Perth Royal Show runs from September 22-29 at the Showgrounds in Claremont.
Comments attributed to Premier Mark McGowan:
"Some of my family's favourite memories are of our visits to the Royal Show - it is an iconic local event that every Western Australian should have the opportunity to attend.
"I commend the Royal Agricultural Society for identifying increased inclusion and access to the Perth Royal Show for all Western Australians as a priority.
"The Perth Royal Show brings aspects of regional WA to the city, providing a forum to showcase the contribution of our hardworking agricultural sector in a fun and interactive way.
"This grant will strengthen and broaden engagement with the Western Australian community and support the dedicated volunteers involved, further building this iconic annual event."
Premier's office - 6552 5000
