Ekka 2026: Royal Queensland Show Turns 150 in Brisbane

From an 1876 colonial exhibition to Queensland’s best-loved institution

The Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA), which runs the show, was founded in 1875 under governor Sir William Cairns. A year later, the first « Intercolonial Exhibition » was held from 22 to 26 August 1876 at Bowen Park: opening day alone drew between 15,000 and 17,000 visitors, a staggering number for a city that counted just 20,600 residents at the time, according to Wikipedia. Today’s Brisbane Showgrounds, occupied since 1886, have hosted the Ekka on almost the same site for 150 years, a rare case of continuity for a popular event of this scale.

Highlights

• Only five cancellations in 150 years: the Spanish flu (1919), the Second World War (1942), and the back-to-back COVID cancellations in 2020-2021
• The very first « showbag » dates back to 1876: bags of coal handed out to visitors, an unlikely ancestor of today’s showbags
• With around 400,000 visitors a year on average, the Ekka is well behind the Sydney Royal Easter Show (close to 900,000), but keeps a much more distinctly Queensland identity

The Ekka is part of a busy Australian calendar of major public gatherings, from the Garma Festival, the country’s biggest Aboriginal celebration in Arnhem Land, to our guide to Australia’s newest hotels and experiences for planning the rest of the trip.

A fully digital box office and a bigger programme for the anniversary

The big change for 2026: tickets are now sold online only, at ekka.com.au, with no more gate sales on the day. The EkkaNITES night show gets a refresh with « Heart of the Land », a production built around 150 years of Queensland’s agricultural spirit, mixing stunts, equestrian displays and fireworks. The 150th anniversary is also marked with the immersive « Ekka 150: From the Ground Up » exhibition, a new Butter Barn presented by Norco, and an expanded Strawberry Sundae Lane. One more new perk: every child aged 5 to 14 who visits the Ekka on 11, 13 or 14 August gets a free ticket to Dreamworld, according to the official programme.

Highlights

• Ekka Beef Week, the biggest cattle gathering in the southern hemisphere, kicks off on 3 August, before the show opens to the public
• The prime cattle competition is back in a big way: 907 head entered in 2026, up from 161 in 2024
• Three sideshow precincts, including a brand-new Machinery Hill Kids Zone, add up to around 40 rides in total

Sideshows, treats and a parade of prize-winning animals

Sideshow Alley, sponsored by radio station B105, holds most of the rides, spread across three precincts in 2026. Showbags remain a local institution in their own right: between 350 and 400 different bags, priced AUD 2 to 36, including 93 new ones in the Courier-Mail Showbag Pavilion alone. On the food side, the Strawberry Sundae (ice cream, fresh strawberries, whipped cream) has been sold since 1950; the RNA ended its 40-year charity partnership with the Prince Charles Hospital Foundation in 2026, but the tradition carries on with an online pre-order system, according to Newsreel. On Wednesday 12 August, People’s Day, the Grand Parade brings together more than 500 prize-winning animals in the Main Arena at 1.30pm, from the smallest champion fish to the star breeding bull.

Highlights

• The Animal Nursery, open since 1964, brings together nearly 500 baby farm animals, with chick cuddling and « goat yoga »; the queue closes at 4.30pm
• Woodchop & Sawing, a century-old lumberjack sport competition, pays equal prize money to men and women
• A « two rides for the price of one » session runs every morning from 9.30am to 10.30am

Making the most of your trip beyond the Ekka’s nine days

A long-haul flight rarely justifies staying just nine days. The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is an easy half-day trip from the city centre, via a cruise on the Brisbane River. The Gold Coast and its beaches are a little over an hour’s drive away, as is the Sunshine Coast to the north; both regions work well as day trips to round out a stay built around the Ekka.

Highlights

• The City Botanic Gardens and the South Bank cultural precinct are easy to reach on foot or by ferry from the centre
• The Story Bridge climb (see above) gives you sweeping views over the city and the river
• For a bigger loop, a tailor-made itinerary helps you string together Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast without wasting time

A long-haul flight with a stopover, but a straightforward visa process

No airline flies direct between London and Brisbane: expect at least one stopover (Singapore, Doha, Hong Kong, Dubai or another Australian city, depending on the carrier) for a total journey time of around 24 hours, with airlines such as Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Cathay Pacific all serving the route. On the paperwork side, British passport holders travel on the ETA (subclass 601): it costs AUD 20 (about £10), is valid for 12 months, allows stays of up to 3 months per entry, and is applied for in minutes through the Australian ETA app, according to the UK government’s foreign travel advice. To place this alongside visa rules elsewhere in the world, our passport ranking and visa restrictions guide gives a useful overview before you plan a longer trip.

In August 2026, Brisbane stays on UTC+10 year-round (Queensland doesn’t observe Australian daylight saving), which puts it 9 hours ahead of the UK, then on British Summer Time. As for the weather, it’s the southern hemisphere winter but also the dry season: mild days around 20-22°C, cooler nights (9-12°C) and very little rain, one of the best weather windows of the year to visit the city. On-site, an adult Ekka ticket costs AUD 42.95 (around £22), the train ride to Exhibition Station, reopened specially for the event, costs AUD 0.50 thanks to the flat fare now permanent across the whole Translink network, and parking around Bowen Hills runs closer to AUD 35 a day.

Highlights

• The train is the option every local source recommends: traffic and parking are seriously tight around Bowen Hills during Ekka week
• Brisbane hotel prices climb noticeably during the Ekka; outside that peak, expect more like AUD 243-258/night for a 3-4 star
• The site is largely accessible: wheelchair and scooter hire on-site, step-free access at Exhibition Station, and dedicated viewing areas in the Main Arena