142nd Derbyshire County Show cancelled due to 'deluge' on showground

The Derbyshire County Show, which was due to take place on Sunday, June 23, 2024, has been cancelled.

Organisers cancelled the family-friendly event at Elvaston by posting a series of announcements online.

The show’s website’s homepage reads: ‘Sadly the 2024 show has been cancelled.’

It also posted a series of social media updates explaining the reason behind the cancellation.

Full announcement of Derbyshire County Show 2024 cancellation

‘We are devastated to announce that due to the recent wet weather, plus a deluge on the Showground last night, given the ground conditions, the committee has had to make the difficult decision to cancel the 142nd County Show.

‘We simply aren’t able to safely put on the full show that you have come to know and love, so sadly we have had to cancel.

‘We hope you can understand the reason for this decision and that you will continue to support us going forward.

‘We will be in touch with all exhibitors, traders, sponsors in due course to deal with refunds, but please bear with us!

‘All tickets and membership already purchased will automatically be credited to the original payment method within the next 7 days.’

Photos posted online show swathes of the ground submerged in water.

The announcement caused an outpouring of disappointment from exhibitors and fans alike.

Vegans Support the Farmers had a stall booked at the event to help raise money for their Young Farmer Mental Health Fund and to speak with attendees about the importance of the vegan and farming communities working together in this critical time.

Kerri Waters, 40, spokesperson for Vegans Support the Farmers, said: “These county shows are an important boost for mental wellbeing, and to see one cancelled at short notice like this is devastating.

“We are gutted that we won’t be able to speak with farmers and add to our mental health fund, but this shows us how important it is for our project to have a positive impact on the mental health of farmers.”

People took to Facebook to share their their sadness. Becky Spackman said: ‘Such a shame’, Clare Young wrote: ‘Oh no, I was really looking forward to the show, so much hard work goes on, I hope you can recoup costs etc. Fingers crossed for next year.’

The business community rallied round and shared words of support too.

Cromford Steam Rally said: ‘Wishing you all the very best, such a difficult and heartbreaking decision all round… Great’ British Weather.”

Shropshire County Show said: ‘We are thinking of all of you - a difficult decision to make but quite clearly the right one. We know the incredible amount of hard work that goes into a county show and we wish you all the best as you look forward to 2025.”

For further updates about the event visit The Derbyshire County Show’s Facebook page by clicking here.