The Royal Highland Show 2025 (RHS), once again took place at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, bringing together 210,000 people in a vibrant celebration of rural life. For the second year running, Scottish Rural Action (SRA) collaborated with 21 partner organisations to deliver an exciting and immersive community showcase . The goal was to place ‘community’ at the heart of the RHS, alongside traditional sectors (agriculture, forestry, fisheries) that have long dominated the event.
The weekend community showcase (Saturday and Sunday) attracted 3,200 people, through a mix of interactive, structured and informal activities. The marquee, kindly provided by the Scottish Government, was transformed into a creative, welcoming and engaging space that encouraged participation and connection. The theme of 'visions of place', led to carefully curated experiences intended to spark imagination while reflecting key partner priorities, e.g. rural transport. ImagineIf's Postcard from the Future activity invited visitors to reflect on what they value in rural and island communities today, what they want to protect, and future aspirations.
Within this environment, attendees enjoyed diverse and interactive activities, including:
- Informal stallholder games & activities
- Face Painting
- An electric chariot
- Performances by the Walking Theatre Company
- Live Music
- Creative Workshops
The impressive turnout was driven by our well-planned activities and engaging environment, particularly catering to families with children, retired couples, MSPs and decision makers attending in a personal capacity, and third sector workers interested in rural and island Scotland.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Rural Community Showcase participants, visitors, and everyone else who contributed to making this event a memorable experience. We look forward to building on this success and continuing to celebrate the vibrant rural communities of Scotland at Royal Highland Show 2026! Watch this space for updates!