Rotherham Show “the best in years”

This year the theme of culture was celebrated, with more music and entertainment, plus the hugely popular Children’s Capital of Culture field, which attracted thousands over the weekend.

Sarah Christie, programme manager for Capital of Culture 2025, said: “We had a fantastic couple of days in the new field. It was great to showcase local organisations who do brilliant work with our borough’s children and young people, like Magna, Gulliver’s, Grimm & Co, Imagine Rotherham and Electronic Music Club.

“We also gave a taster of our upcoming February music festival, Signals, by giving seven young performers the chance to shine by playing at our Busker’s Corner, and debuted a brand new art commission, Kaleider’s Let’s Twist, which saw show-goers playing with giant twistable sculptures. Our trainees – 16-to-25-year-olds from Rotherham – had a key role in programming, dressing and running the site, and it was wonderful to see their vision come to life.”

The Chuckle Tent provided the laughs, the produce and makers market showcased local food, the vegetable and flower shows brought about fierce competition and the New Festival Village, curated by Flux, kept the music going throughout Saturday and Sunday, with performances from Rotherham Drummers United, The Bewonderment Machine, the Tamil Group and Ray Hearne.

There was outdoor theatre, Let’s Circus, a funfair, a gripping strongest person competition, music at the bandstand from the likes of Wickersley Young Stars and various brass bands, as well as from the Rhythms of Rotherham Stage and, as usual, the dog show was a hit, as was the food court and the contemporary music from the Rockingham Field.

Kim, who travelled to the show with her husband and two young children from Barnsley on Sunday, said: “I’ve been five or six times before and this has definitely been the best. There seems to be more entertainment, more space and less commercial stalls, plus the kids really enjoyed the Capital of Culture area. The sun helped as well as it has rained when we’ve been here before.”

Initial estimates were that Sunday’s attendance was slightly higher, with Saturday possibly slightly down due to Rotherham United and the Titans playing at home.