The Royal Welsh Show has pledged to provide more opportunities for people with disabilities to enjoy the event.

Officials from the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society (RWAS) are taking advantage of a special project designed to gear-up events and businesses to be user-friendly for people with additional needs.

They signed up for a pioneering four-day course created by community interest company PIWS to establish Accessibility Champions within the organisations.

As well as the Royal Welsh Show, RWAS also organises the annual Winter Fair and other events at the site in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells.

Other events that have signed up include the National Eisteddfod, which is being held in Wrexham in 2025, the Urdd National Eisteddfod and Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, along with Disability Sport Wales and Wales Young Farmers’ Clubs.

Set-up in 2018, PIWS is a community-driven organisation dedicated to enhancing accessibility for individuals with disabilities, including autism, learning difficulties, sensory impairments, mobility challenges, and brain illnesses.

Founder Davina Carey-Evans, who has two sons with complex disabilities and whose husband was severely disabled in a fall, is spearheading the project.

As well as being the right thing to do, she said, it can also help the events tap into a lucrative market.

"We hear a lot about the power of the LGBTQ+ community’s pink pound but the purple pound is also very valuable and in accessible tourism across the UK,” said Ms Carey-Evans.

"There are 16.1 million disabled people in the UK, this represents 24 per cent of the population and it has been estimated there is an untapped potential value of £15.8 billion a year in Accessible Tourism alone.

“Gearing up businesses to be user-friendly for the disabled isn’t just the right thing to do, it makes commercial sense as well," she said.

A spokeswoman for Royal Welsh Agricultural Society said: "We want to improve our offer to those who have disabilities and difficulty with accessing our showground.

"Steps have already been taken to address the accessibility to our facilities but there is much more that we can do. Any assistance we get from Piws will be very welcome as we are on a very steep learning curve."

She said lifts have been installed in various places to assist with access and quiet areas set aside.

"Parking is an issue which we have addressed. Satellite parking is in use during the shows and we have ensured that the buses used to shuttle people to and from the showground from the car parks are suitable.”

"We have made a video which will help visitors visualise this particular journey before they arrive. Assistance dogs are now being allowed on site as well," she added.