Royal flower show a 'bad risk' for small business

Jess Levett said her heart sank when she saw it would cost her nearly £5,000 for a pitch

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is being criticised for charging businesses too much to take part in next year's Sandringham Flower Show.

The previously one-day event has been held annually on the royal estate in Norfolk since 1884 and has been run by a committee of volunteers.

The RHS will now run a five-day event every three years with its first planned for July 2026.

One trader said she would not be going next year because the cost of hiring her pitch would be nearly £4,708 for five days, compared to £350 for one day last time, with no option to do fewer than five days — charges the RHS said were competitive.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla attended last year's show on the estate

Jess Levett founded her Floral Lifestyle in Norfolk and has taken her handmade homeware and gifts products to the show for the past 10 years.

However, she said she would not be attending in 2026 because of the cost.

"The pitch we usually have is six-metre frontage and three-metre depth, so with the RHS model and pricing, this would be £218 per square metre, which totals £4,708," she said.

"I usually pay £350 plus the additional costs like van hire.

"It works out just shy of £1,000 per day which is not viable."

In previous years, the Sandringham Flower Show has attracted about 14,500 visitors.

The 2026 event would be the first time the RHS had put on a show in Norfolk so it was unclear how many people would attend.

Ms Levett said: "I'm a small business holder and I'm used to taking risks.

"There are good risks and bad risks and this is just a risk I am not willing to take."

The BBC spoke a number of the show's former horticultural exhibitors who said they were considering whether or not to take part again.

Local groups 'central' to new show

The RHS told the BBC it wanted to make sure local groups who had taken part in previous shows were "central" to the 2026 event, which would be more focused on plants and flowers.

"The RHS is excited to work with local committees and communities to expand the Sandringham Flower Show in 2026 to five days to include more horticultural spectacle, generate a greater national awareness and increase visitor numbers to support and celebrate local businesses and organisations," a spokesperson said.

"We believe our costs for exhibiting for a major national event, especially considering the increased promotional, marketing and larger visitor volumes, are very reasonable".

The flower show committee has been approached for comment by the BBC. It was unclear what it had planned for the two years between the RHS-run events.

Richard Hobbs is a former Sandringham Flower Show judge, who is horticulture lead at The Walled Garden at Little Plumstead, near Norwich.

He said the RHS event would be spectacular, but feared for the future of the traditional show.

"They are just such different things," he said.

"At the Sandringham Show there's a bit of royal-watching, lots of local interest, it's a really different ball game.

"I hope it [the traditional show] does come back, but it just might be lost a bit."

The Sandringham Estate has also been approached for comment.