Canterbury A&P Show 'back on track'
By Keiller MacDuff of RNZ
The Canterbury A&P Show is back on track after a last-minute resurrection in 2024 saved it from cancellation amid financial troubles, staff upheavals and board bickering, organisers say.
The show - which has a 160-year history - was cancelled in April last year after the A&P Association claimed it was not financially viable.
After a $5 million injection from the Christchurch City Council and an almost complete overhaul of the board, a downscaled format was announced in conjunction with events management company Event Hire.
Updating councillors at a meeting on Tuesday, Canterbury A&P Association chair Sir David Carter and general manager Peter Engel said last year's show had been a huge success, especially given the three month timeframe between the men coming on board and the show.
Halving ticket prices had helped bring in strong crowd numbers, to the point that organisers were close to shutting the gates due to numbers at one point, Engel told the council.
About 275 exhibitors took part, down on the usual 500, but Engel told the council some were influenced by the publicity surrounding the cancellation, and a tumultuous period in which the board was almost entirely replaced.
Many larger agri-businesses did not feature as they did not budget for the show after it was initially cancelled, he said.
Engel expected they would return in future shows.
The downscaled show shifted from the traditional Wednesday to Friday, to being held from Thursday to Saturday, which Engel said had been well received.
A "strong appetite for town meets country" saw farmyard animals, wood chopping and shearing exhibitions among the most popular attractions, he said.
The city council's $5m bail out required the Association to use $1m to repay an existing council loan, while the remaining $4m bought out the remaining 95 years of the lease for Canterbury Agricultural Park, five hectares of council land on Wigram Road.
The money was tagged to a new charitable investment trust, the revenue from which would be used to help cover the cost of running future shows.
Former board member Steve Barry was paid $75,000 for his role in landing the deal, it later emerged.
In September, the council gave the association another $125,000 without consulting councillors beforehand.
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