More than 50,000 people poured through the gates of Wales’s biggest agricultural show on its opening day, organisers said today.

The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society announced today that a total of 52,448 people visited the Llanelwedd showground at Builth Wells for the Royal Welsh Show yesterday.

It was 1,000 down on last year but the third highest figure for a Monday.

The society said it was delighted with the way this year’s event was going.

The show was opened yesterday in brilliant sunshine by Lord Elystan Morgan, a former MP for Ceredigion, who described the Royal Welsh as the most successful event of its kind in Europe.

The day also saw the opening of a new £1.6 million food hall by the Minister of Rural Affairs, Elin Jones. She said the Assembly Government would continue to be involved with the venue which showcases quality Welsh food and drink.

She said the Assembly had agreed a £270,000 three-year sponsorship deal with the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society.

Alun Evans, chairman of the Royal Welsh Council, said sponsorship for 2010 had reached nearly £1.5 million. The four-day event provides plenty of interest for all ages and offers a great range of attractions — both educational and entertaining. This year’s livestock includes some 8,000 horses, cattle, sheep, pigs and goats.

Opening yesterday’s show, Lord Morgan said the event was now the most successful show of its kind in the UK and Europe.

He said: “This show is magnificent and wide-ranging. It has established a cult in the breeding of animals in Wales and has elevated husbandry to the highest level. And farmers are used to the vagaries of the weather and of nature and this reflects on the personalities of countrymen.”

There was traffic chaos as showgoers left Llanelwedd yesterday and organisers are hoping today’s showers won’t deter people from attending the event.