Last week, I posted the first entry on the 2000 Royal Easter Show and in our second and concluding entry, I will share feature articles and highlights.
Key Statistics
Up to April 28, 2000 (and does not include the final figures from April 29, 2000)
- 1,059,760 attended
- 883,500 travelled to the show by public transport. 623,320 travelled by rail and 260,180 by bus
- More than 620 children were recorded as lost.
- Approximately 10,000 animals were on exhibition
- 950,000 bottles or servings of water and soft drink were sold
- 500,000 coffees were sold
- 275,000 hot dogs and Dagwood dogs were sold
Source: Stevenson, A. 2000. "Salute to land and its people". The Sydney Morning Herald, May 1: 50.
Main Arena Entertainment
Each night at 7:45 pm, the Main Arena would host a recreation of Banjo Patterson's The Man from Snowy River.
Source: Buchan, N. 2000. "Back to the bush: Tradition returns to main arena". The Daily Telegraph, April 6: 7.
Opening Day - April 14
The Daily Telegraph had this report in its Final Afternoon edition (1:30 pm), reporting "massive crowds" for Day 1, and only half the day had passed. Opening Day coincided with the last day of Term 1, which also happened this year (April 11).
Source: Gee, S. 2000. "Crowds show up in droves". The Daily Telegraph, April 14: 3.
A new opening day record was set with 54,873 attending. Yours truly was amongst them.
Source: Walker, F. 2000. "Big crowd makes show of security". The Sun Herald, April 16: 14-15
With the Olympic Games five months away, NSW Police performed a practice exercise on Saturday, April 15. A security checkpoint was located at one of the entrances used to check bags of showgoers, who were required to pass through a metal detector. 20,000 people were subject to inspection.
Source: Buchan, N. 2000. "Schools' day sets a record". The Daily Telegraph, April 15: 8.
Easter Long Weekend
Good Friday saw crowds of over 140,000, and the Easter Long Weekend in 2000 offered something that normally wouldn't happen - sunshine and clear weather. It is a Sydney custom that at least one of the four days of the Easter long weekend is rainy.
At this stage, the Easter long weekend 2025 is forecast to be warm and sunny.
Did you know that in 2000, Anzac Day fell two days after Easter Sunday (April 23), meaning the Easter Long Weekend was a five-day weekend?
On Anzac Day, the gates opened at 11 am in respect of the day and to enable people to attend Anzac Day events.
Check out the crowd on Good Friday! Only 80,000 tickets have been allocated for Good Friday this year (as with every other day of the show).
Source: Buchan, N. 2000. "Perfect day for a bumper crowd". The Daily Telegraph, April 22: 11.
Source: Sams. C. 2000. "Sunny side up cheers record crowd". The Sun Herald, April 23:25.
About 100,000 people attend on Easter Saturday.
Source: McCabe, K. 2000. "Crowds hoof it around Show". The Sunday Telegraph, April 23: 9.
The Prime Minister also had the opportunity to spend some time at the show.

Cameron, D. 2000. "Howard puts the cap among the cockies as he gets in for his chop". The Sydney Morning Herald, April 17: 5.
In 2000, new restaurants opened at the showgrounds, increasing dining options, especially for those who dread carnival favourites—Pluto pups, dagwood dogs, and hot chips.
Source: Buchan, N. "A step up from the pluto pups". The Daily Telegraph, April 28: 20.
Show Budgeting
Going to the Royal Easter Show is not cheap, even if on a budget.
Source: Verghis, S. 2000. "Over budget, but hey, that's Show business". The Sydney Morning Herald, April 17: 8.
A problem with showbags
The Pokemon bag was a best seller in 2000, but some items were missing due to shipping issues and failed to arrive in time. Ultimately, the price of the bags had to be reduced, and replacement items were provided to appease those eager to buy the bag.
Source: Porter, J. 2000. "Pokemon toys on missing list". The Daily Telegraph, April 17: 10.

Source: Buchan, N. 2000. "Missing toys cut price of Pokemon bags". The Daily Telegraph, April 18: 15.
Some missed out on a particular bag because the day's supply was exhausted by 1 p.m. Pepsi was sold out by April 20, and no additional bags were sold as a result. Some items were substituted.
Source: Clifton, B. 2000. "The great showbag shortage". The Daily Telegraph, April 21: 3.
The Sydney Morning Herald (May 1 2000) published a special results supplement which included features on the show itself and a selection of photos.

That concludes our two-part series on the 2000 Royal Easter Show. Just a reminder that the 2025 Royal Easter Show runs until Tuesday, April 22.
It's time for a bonus - a map of the Sydney Showgrounds for the 2000 Royal Easter Show, as published in the preview magazine in The Sun Herald on April 9, 2000.

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