About Royal Melbourne Show
The Royal Melbourne Show â officially the Melbourne Royal Show since the organising body rebranded â is Victoria's big annual agricultural show, held each spring at Melbourne Showgrounds in Ascot Vale, next door to Flemington Racecourse. The 2026 edition runs 24 September to 4 October. It's the standard royal-show package done at scale: livestock and produce competitions, showbags, carnival rides, and nightly arena entertainment, run by Melbourne Royal (formerly the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria). For Melburnians it marks the start of spring the way the Ekka marks winter in Brisbane.
History
The lineage runs back to 1848, when the Port Phillip Farmers' Society organised competitive ploughing matches that soon picked up livestock and grain demonstrations, commercial stands and amusements.
The state government granted the Society 30 acres at Ascot Vale in 1882, and the first show on the new site ran in 1883 â it hasn't moved since. Queen Victoria assented to the Royal prefix in 1890.
During both world wars the showgrounds were requisitioned for military purposes. In 2021 the RASV began trading as Melbourne Royal, which is why the show's official name flipped from Royal Melbourne Show to Melbourne Royal Show.
The state government granted the Society 30 acres at Ascot Vale in 1882, and the first show on the new site ran in 1883 â it hasn't moved since. Queen Victoria assented to the Royal prefix in 1890.
During both world wars the showgrounds were requisitioned for military purposes. In 2021 the RASV began trading as Melbourne Royal, which is why the show's official name flipped from Royal Melbourne Show to Melbourne Royal Show.
Sources
Editions
- 2026Royal Melbourne Show24 Sep – 4 Oct