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| The cover of the preview magazine was published in The Sun Herald on April 9, 2000. |
Friday marks the start of the annual Royal Easter Show at Sydney Olympic Park. The year of focus in 1999 and will be presented in two entries.
Early bird tickets are available with discounts.
This week, I will focus on key facts and the showbags.
Date: April 14-29, 2000
The Easter Show ran for 16 days as in 1997-1999 and it will run for 12 days in 2025.
Theme: The Great Australian Muster
Admission
Show Only entry ticket prices remained unchanged from 1999Adults: - $17
Tertiary Students - $13
Tertiary Students - $13
Children: - $9.50
Showlink tickets were also available and could be pre-purchased at train stations for use on any one day of the show, including show buses.
Adults: - $22
Tertiary Students - $15.50
Tertiary Students - $15.50
Children: - $12
In 2025, ticket options are broader, but the general prices are:
Adults - $ 48.00 (Up $3 from 2024)
Concession - $36 (Up $2 from 2024)
Child - $29.50 (down $1.50 from 2024)
PWD - $29.50 (down $1.50 from 2024)
Early bird tickets are available with discounts.
Tickets in 2025 include free return travel on public transport on the day of the visit, and the date of the visit must be pre-booked.
Unfortunately, there is a $5.50 booking fee per ticket as all tickets are sold via Ticketmaster.
Transport
As in 1998 and 1999, the Olympic Roads and Transport Authority (ORTA) oversaw public transport arrangements. The network of special regional bus services was maintained. The maps below were featured in the preview guide published in The Sun Herald on April 9 2000. There was no rail map for 2000.
Showbags
It has been reported that as many as 400 show bags are available in 2025. In 2000, 290 show bags were offered, still a large number. Showbags a quarter of a century ago ranged between $2 and $15, compared with $4 and $36 in 2024.
The images were obtained from the preview guide published in The Sun Herald on April 7, 2000.
Bensons
Note that the Cadbury Showbag was $5 and consistently a best seller. The "mega" bag for Cadbury fans in the day was the Crunchie Showbag, which cost $12. The Crunchie Showbag was a true Cadbury Showbag with various Cadbury Chocolates included.
One show bag I remember buying in 2000 was the Video Ezy Showbag, which included an ex-rental video alongside other goodies. I chose Armageddon as my movie because I am a fan of Disaster Movies.
The Humungous Showbag, now sold under the Bensons Banner, was the only bag from The Showbag Factory that survived the move.
Gag Magic
New Concept
They specialised in bags for TV Shows and films, including bags from Warner Bros. and Disney Franchises. In addition, merchandise could be purchased. WWF fans were also looked after, with two bags on offer.
They also offered a Sydney Olympics Showbag ($12.50) and a Sydney Swans showbag ($15). In 2025, AFL Fans can buy a bag for any of the 18 teams in the competition.
2DAY FM, Pepsi & Triple M
All three were bestsellers, and the question has to be raised as to why neither of them brought out an annual bag for 2025. 2DAY FM was, at the time, the most listened-to FM Radio Station in Sydney, but it has slipped in the past decade following the departure of Kyle and Jackie O to KIIS FM ( Formerly MIX 1065/2UW).
You got a bag you could use each day, and whatever was featured was a freebie, making the bags value for money.
2DAYFM and TripleM also provided coffee mugs.
Nestle
Bertie Beetle Showbags were on offer for $3 or 2 for $5. Only the blue (original bag) was available. Lifesavers was owned by Nestle in 2000 but is currently produced by Darrell Lea, meaning that Lifesavers Showbags are now sold in the Darrell Lea stand.
Candy World
Mega Showbags
& the others...
The NRL had their showbags on offer, but did not require a visit to the Showbag Pavillion and cost $20. All teams were available
Darrell Lea offered four show bags in 2000 and will offer four in 2025, though the Liquorice Showbag is the one that has survived. There is also a " classics"-themed bag on offer this year. One popular bag in 2000 that is no longer offered is the A Little Luxury Sample Bag.
That concludes Part I. Next week, I will share some feature articles and highlights from the 1999 Royal Easter Show in Part II.
