JCB Dancing Diggers to perform at Staffordshire County Show

Described as a down-to-earth version of the Red Arrows, they have curtsied for the Queen, pirouetted for TV and thrilled thousands all over the world.

Richard Williams, chief executive of the Staffordshire and Birmingham Agricultural Society, said he is delighted to announce the diggers as the main ring attraction.

He said: “The legendary JCB Dancing Diggers limit their appearances to three or four shows per year so we really are pleased that Staffordshire County Show is one of them in 2018.

“They have a great reputation and amaze spectators with their intricate and spectacular routines to music like The Phantom of the Opera, the Wedding March and Firebird.

“This is a massive coup for the show and we cannot wait to see the faces of both adults and children lucky enough to come and see them up close and personal.

“And as Staffordshire is the home of JCB it makes this even more special for us.”

The mechanical monsters, weighing over 80 tonnes, circle and weave past each other with split second precision and only inches to spare during a routine which sees them perform hand-stands and a wedding arch for other machines to drive through.

They will perform two shows per day at the Staffordshire County showground on Weston Road, on May 30 and 31, during half term.

This year’s event promises to be another great day out for the family with local produce, crafts, activities, displays and performances.

Caroline Clacher, Worldwide Events Manager at JCB, said the company is delighted to be supporting the show in its home county.

She said: “The JCB Dancing Diggers have a great reputation across the world. People think they must be modified to be able to perform with such elegance, but each of the machines taking part in the routine is exactly what our customers buy each and every day.

“It is a graphic demonstration of the machines’ remarkable manoeuvrability, precision and power and we are delighted to show this off to visitors to the 2018 Staffordshire County Show which promises to be a great event.”

The JCB Dancing Diggers were born when the founder of JCB, the late Joseph Bamford, wanted to demonstrate the strength of the new breed of hydraulic machines to sceptical buyers. He used two machines to form an arch and drove his own car beneath the arch and parked it there. No-one who saw that demonstration remained a sceptic for long and it also heralded the birth of the Dancing Diggers.

Tickets will be available to buy direct from the showground website www.staffscountyshowground.co.uk from April 1 2018.

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