Our History
1854
The North East Agricultural Association of Ireland was formed encompassing the counties of Down, Antrim, Armagh and Monaghan.
1855
The Association held its first agricultural Show at Belfast Corporation Markets on Chichester Street, Belfast and featured 506 entries.
1894
A 30-acre site on the Lisburn Road, Belfast was the first permanent asset purchased by the Association for £12.50 per acre.
1896
The Association hosted the first Balmoral Show at the new Lisburn Road showgrounds featuring 1,391 entries.
1903
The Association voted to be renamed the Ulster Agricultural Society.
1904
King Edward granted the Society with the 'Royal' prefix to create the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society.
1934
The King's Hall building was opened by HRH the Duke of Gloucester.
1967
The Society and visitors celebrated the 100th Balmoral Show.
1986
The first Royal Ulster Winter Fair was held in association with principal sponsor Danske Bank.
2000
The RUAS appointed its first female President - Margaret Collinson, OBE.
2002
HRH Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited the Balmoral Show as part of her Golden Jubilee Tour.
2012
The King's Hall hosted its last Balmoral Show and closed its doors after a historic vote by Society members to move to a larger space.
2013
For the first time Balmoral Show was held at the new 55-acre showground site in Lisburn.
2015
The Eikon Exhibition Centre officially opened on the Lisburn showgrounds.
2018
Visitors, exhibitors and industry leaders celebrated the 150th Balmoral Show.
2018
The first Royal Ulster Premier Beef & Lamb Championships took place.
2024
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh visited the Royal Ulster Winter Fair in celebration of the Society’s 170th anniversary.
Did You Know?
The Balmoral Show was only suspended four times in its longstanding history due to:
1914
WW1 as the showgrounds were used by military authorities as a Remount Depot.
1939
WW2 as the showgrounds were used by the Air Raid Precautions Committee of Belfast Corporation.
2001
The outbreak of Foot and Mouth.
2020
The outbreak of Coronavirus.
