The 157th Balmoral Show takes place over four days, from Wednesday 13 to Saturday 16 May, at the Eikon Exhibition Centre showgrounds, located at the Maze, outside Lisburn in Northern Ireland (NI).

Organised by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS) and taking place in partnership with principal sponsor Ulster Bank, the show continues to be the premier agri-food event in NI.

Held on a 65-acre site, the event has grown in recent years, with around 120,000 visitors expected over the four days from across Ireland and Britain.

The venue has a lot of tarmac walkways and hard-standing, so is little impacted by the weather. In recent years, Wednesday has tended to be the quietest day, with a lot of family visitors on Saturday.

Agriculture and equine remain the core elements of the event, with over 3,000 livestock competing within various show classes. The 2026 livestock competition schedule includes over 20 main sheep breeds, 11 different beef breeds and the four main dairy breeds of Holstein, Jersey, Ayrshire and Dairy Shorthorn. There are also various goat and pig classes.

A full timetable of sheep shearing competitions takes place in the shearing pavilion over the four days, culminating in the open final on Saturday afternoon. For equine enthusiasts, there are competitions across horses, ponies and donkeys, while in the main arena there is international and national show jumping, along with show jumping for under 10s and for school teams.

Away from the livestock competitions around 650 trade stands will be at the show, while in the NI Food and Drink pavilion there are around 80 local producers offering various drinks, snacks and artisan products. Within the pavilion, there are two theatre kitchens.

Other attractions include a horticulture hub which covers everything from planting vegetables to craft demonstrations and garden furniture. In the main arena, the Bolddog FMX stunt display team returns this year.