The Royal Horticultural Society has announced a series of changes to the RHS Flower Shows to help reach new audiences and inspire more people to get gardening.
RHS Shows will tour to new locations to promote gardening to as many people as possible. The changes will be a catalyst for new content and an enhanced visitor experience. Whilst the RHS Chelsea Flower Show will stay as it is, the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival will become a biennial event, with a new show taking place in 2026 in the historic grounds of Badminton Estate, Gloucestershire, returning to Hampton Court Palace in 2027. The RHS Shows will remain at Hampton Court Palace for 2024 and 2025.
The first RHS Urban Show took place in Manchester earlier this month and there will be another Urban Show announced shortly for a new location next year. The RHS Urban Show diversifies from the traditional RHS Shows model with more focus on gardening for small spaces and community involvement. The changes will enable the RHS to deliver world class horticulture to the doorsteps of members who may not have an RHS Garden near them, and creating shows in fixed venue sites means better sustainability opportunities too.
RHS Director General Clare Matterson said, “Our RHS Shows are without a doubt the best horticultural events in the world, however we must not and should not stand still. We owe it to the horticultural world, our invaluable RHS members, our visitors and our nation of gardeners to look at how and what we can do to create new content, work with new contributors and find ways to generate interest and inspiration both within our current much loved British events and in new locations with new shows to work with new populations and people. These are some of the biggest changes we’ve made to our shows in a generation and we’re delighted to be extending our reach and making the RHS more accessible and welcoming to more people.
“We want to inspire current and new audiences with world class horticulture and provide access to the UK’s best plants people to help even more people garden and grow.”
RHS Director of Shows, Commercial and Innovation, Helena Pettit said, “We have been working with our existing partners over the last few years to ensure that we can continue to deliver the amazing RHS Shows in the iconic sites, whilst innovating in new sites and having the ability to grow the number of communities, schools, designers, nurseries and all stakeholders that the RHS collaborates with.
“We’re excited about the opportunities these new partnerships in new locations will offer and will be able to get really creative with ideas and content for our visitors. At the same time, we are delighted that we can continue to work with Historic Royal Palaces and Tatton Park to deliver these much loved events. We look forward to working with current friends and new to innovate and create the best horticultural events in the world.”
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