Sydney Royal Easter Show

The first purpose of the show is specifically to encourage agriculture. Although other aspects of the show have developed including competitions, entertainment and commerce, the display of the products of rural industry remain of major importance, the RAS claiming 30,000 rural exhibits in 2007.[8] One of the most popular sights at the show is the "District Exhibits" competition. These displays are set up by four districts of NSW and South East Queensland. A theme is selected and created pictorially on a large scale, to strict rules and using only the produce of the particular district which typically includes wool, wheat, apples, pumpkins, sugar cane, citrus fruit, vegetables and brightly coloured bottles of preserves. Sydney Royal Judges scrutinise every element individually – grains, pulses, fruit, oils, vegetables, fibre – to determine who has the best in each region. Points from the different sections plus the extra points for General Presentation and Effective Display are added together to determine the overall winner.  Attendees are also able to buy produce from the farmers at the front of the exhibits.

A Limousin bull

During the course of the show, a large range of livestock is judged. This includes the famous Merino sheep, whose fine wool was a major source of Australia's wealth in the 19th and 20th centuries. Also shown are dairy cattle of which the major breeds are the Australian Illawarra Shorthorn, Friesian, Ayrshire, Jersey and Guernsey. Beef cattle are predominantly Hereford, Aberdeen Angus and Murray Grey with other breeds including Brahman, Devon and Charolais. Other livestock judged at the show include a variety of sheep, pigs, goats, alpacas and poultry of all sorts.

Lining up for the judging

The central arena of the showground is used throughout the show for the judging more than 1,000 equestrian events. The classes include events for horses, riders, pairs, teams, rodeo riders, show jumping and driving. Horses are shown in 24 different breed classes including Australian Stock Horses, Buckskins, Clydesdales, Hackneys, Miniature Horses, Australian National Saddlehorses, Palominos, Percherons, Pintos, Shetland Ponies, Shires, and Warmbloods etc. A large section of the ridden classes are pony, galloway and hack height classes, and the "Sydney Royal" is considered one of the hardest and most prestigious shows in Australia. A popular sight in the arena is the Carlton & United Breweries wagon, drawn by the team of "Carlton Clydesdales".

An English Springer Spaniel taking part in the Dog Show

As part of the Sydney Royal Easter Show there is a Dog Show in which about 3,000 dogs are displayed and judged. There is also a Cat Show and competitions for caged birds, rabbits, mice and rats. There is a large pigeon show. Displays are given by working dogs, Australian Kelpies, Border Collies and Australian Cattle Dogs.

The Animal Nursery is popular with children

The Farmyard Nursery is an open-plan indoor paddock, filled with free-range animals welcoming the attention of the young and the young-at-heart.  You will find ducklings, fawns, piglets, geese, roosters, chickens, sheep, donkeys, alpacas and goats.

The NSW Mounted Police

Attracting over 250 Competitors from around the world across 69 classes, the Sydney Royal Woodchopping & Sawing Competition is the largest and most prestigious in the world, and is referred to as the ‘Wimbledon of woodchop’. The competition is held in a purpose built stadium and includes five World Championship events watched by capacity crowds

An exhibit in the floral competition featuring strelitzias

Since the 19th century competitions have been held "for the ladies". These competitions have traditionally included the making of scones, fruitcake and preserves. Crafts have traditionally included three crochetted doilies, a smocked baby's dress and a man's knitted sleeveless sweater. Over 100 years the classes have been expanded to include a vast range of cooking and crafts in which men may also compete. Among the crafts are the spinning, weaving and dyeing of wool, woodwork, leatherwork, enamelling, lacemaking, embroidery, toymaking and patchwork.

The various fashions in craft have changed dramatically over the years and these changes are reflected in the number of exhibits and in the classes. From 1960 until about 1990 one of the most popular crafts was cake decorating, with numerous expert decorators vying for fineness in their "extension work" and creating designs of extraordinary delicacy and intricacy. In the 21st century these technical skills have almost disappeared. On the other hand, the art of paper tole, also requiring of much fine control, has become a popular craft, as witnessed by the large number of entries to the competition.

Associated with the show, and displayed in the same pavilion as the craft competitions is an Art Show with classes for Rural subjects, Still Life, Watercolour and Figurative painting. There are competitions for sculpture, photography, silverwork and ceramics.

Silhouette artist, S John Ross, part of the show for 50 years

The State and Federal Governments both contribute exhibitions to the show though their presence has diminished significantly since the relocation to Homebush Bay in 1998. Many government departments such as NSW Lotteries, CityRail and NSW Health have axed their annual displays. However bodies such as The New South Wales Rural Fire Service, New South Wales Police Force, the Ambulance Service and the Army Reserve continue to set up displays to inform and promote goodwill to the public.

Foremost among the charitable bodies and service organisations with an active presence at the show are the St John Ambulance Australia who not only provided on the spot attention for sunstroke but also injuries sustained while steer-roping. Providing sustenance of another sort is the Country Women's Association who have a prominently placed cafe selling Devonshire Teas and other goodies.

An important tradition of the Show since 1900 is the selling of merchandises known as showbags.[5] Originally called 'Sample Bags' (and free),[5] they were a means for manufacturers to market their products to the general public, today showbags often come in the form of promotional merchandises, as well as toys targeting children.

Apart from Showbag Pavilion there are many other commercial enterprises who are "stall holders" at the Show. These range from international companies providing finance and agricultural plant to purveyors of fairground ephemera, fairy floss and meat pies. Many of the manufacturers represented are providing goods closely associated with rural industry such as work boots, woollen sweaters and the iconic Akubra hat and Driza-Bone raincoat. S John Ross, master of the silhouette, won the Legend Award at the 2007 Royal Easter Show. S. John Ross worked until his death at age 89.

The Skywheel

The Show features a carnival which are the amusement rides, sideshows and competitive stands. In 2009, the show debuted three new amusement rides, Pirate's Revenge(a Reverchon Log Flume), Buried Alive (a motion simulator simulating being buried alive) and the Haunted Hotel (Ghost Train). These join such traditional delights as Frank Laurie's Steam Merry-Go-Round, built in the 1890s and touring Australia for 80 years.

In the evening the Sydney Showground Stadium becomes the venue for spectacular entertainment which regularly includes the NSW Mounted Police Musical Ride, the Precision Driving display, originally performed in Holdens, but in recent years Isuzu D-Max Utes. The entertainment culminates with fireworks.

The Royal Easter Show has cancelled three times — during the Spanish flu pandemic, the Great Depression and the COVID-19 pandemic — over its almost 200-year history.[9]