Royal Show crowds hit a decade high off the back of free and discounted tickets

West Australians have smashed crowd expectations ahead of the Perth Royal Show, with the Royal Agricultural Society revealing almost 440,000 people came to the eight-day event. Discounted tickets for adults and free entry for children 15 and under saw the biggest crowd in more than a decade. The tickets and a spate of sunny weather saw numbers rise from more than 315,000 last year to 438,636 — an increase of almost 40 per cent. It was the most since more than 450,000 in 2013. Crowds hit a low point of 311,000 in 2016 and the Show was cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020. This year’s figures smashed initial expectations, with Premier Roger Cook in July saying he expected a little over 300,000 to come through the gates at Claremont Showgrounds. As part of the State Government’s funding injection, crowds were also given a nightly fireworks spectacular, along with a drone show and a motocross exhibition.