The Orange Show is in doubt and the Cumnock Show has been cancelled as organisers react to the spread of coronavirus in the region.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Orange Show Society president Peter Naylor said the committee would decide within a week whether to call off the 2020 show, due to take place on the weekend of May 9-10.
Mr Naylor said he had spoken to the Australian Show Society and The Showmens Guild on the weekend about a potential shutdown.
"Everything is up in the air at the moment," he said.
"We have left it for a week to decide what we are going to do."
Mr Naylor said under the federal government's ban on gatherings of more than 500 people to try to stop the spread of the virus the show could not go on.
He said they could not postpone the show to later in the year as show dates in NSW were pre-booked.
"We don't know how long it is going to last," he said.
He said they wanted to give everyone booked for the show plenty of notice of their decision.
This year's show was to have been the 148th since it started in 1873.
Mr Naylor said the show was last cancelled in the 1980s due to poor weather and had also been cancelled during the Depression and during world wars.
A statement on the Cumnock show's website has announced the 2020 show, due to take place on Saturday March 21, has been cancelled.
"Please be advised that this morning the Cumnock Show committee met and have made the tough decision to cancel this year's show," it said.
The Sydney Royal Easter Show has already been cancelled.
Other regional events including the Millthope Markets have also been cancelled due to concerns over the virus.
The Showmens Guild of Australasia is concerned the widespread cancellation of shows will leave its members out of work and facing financial hardship.
"The shut down of events over 500 people will be catastrophic for the travelling amusement industry," it said on its Facebook site.
Other district shows at risk include Bathurst on April 24-26, Yeoval May 12, Wellington May 16 and Dubbo May 22-24.
We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe below
David Fitzsimons
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
