WITH the prospect of a scorching weekend ahead, the Three Counties Show opened with a sunny smile on its face today.

The 70-acre showground in the shadow of the Malvern Hills basked in the June sunshine as exhibitors and visitors arrived from all over the country.

Organisers are hoping for an attendance of around 100,000 by the time the three-day countryside extrava-ganza closes at 6pm on Sunday.

And the weather prospects certainly seem good.

"Apart from the outside chance of a thunderstorm on Sunday afternoon, it should be mostly hot and dry over the weekend," said Worcester weather expert Paul Damari.

"Today and tomorrow, temperatures should reach the middle and upper 20 degrees C, while on Sunday it will be a little fresher, but still around 23 degrees."

Show attendance is always boosted by a royal visitor, but this year the royal family will be there in spirit rather than in person.

The Queen has entered one of her Haflinger horses in the equestrian classes and Prince Charles will be making a bid for poultry glory with a range of tinted, brown and mottled eggs from his estate at Highgrove.

"This is not the first time we have received entries from the royal household," said show Press officer Sharon Gilbert, "but I believe this is the first 'mother and son' entry."

Even before the showground officially opened to the public at 8am, more than 100 members of the Country Land and Business Association sat down to their Big Breakfast in the TCAS enclosure.

This business breakfast has now become a traditional "show opener" and after enjoying a full English spread, the meeting was addressed by Dr Martin Hurst, transformation director of Natural England, and Geoff Sansome, regional director of the Rural Development Service, on how Government plans to reform the Civil Service will impact in the countryside.

Main arena attractions this year include the Red Devils parachute team, the White Helmets motor cycle display team and the Paws for Thought dog agility performance.

With livestock entries up, bumper equestrian classes and more than 700 tradestands, the 2005 Three Counties Show could be a summer sizzler.

Make sure you follow the Three Counties Show with our extensive coverage in the Worcester News.