There was sun, there was rain - and the crowds just kept coming.

This year's Suffolk Show beat every expectation to take the crown for visitor numbers.

Show organisers have revealed that an astonishing total of 97,218 people poured through the gates over two days - a figure thought to be the biggest number ever.

Members of the Suffolk Agricultural Association - the charity behind the event - were left astounded and delighted at the popularity of the pre-Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend farming extravaganza as it sailed into their record books.

The storming performance was beyond their wildest dreams - having thought just months before that they might have to impose Covid restrictions and possibly curb numbers in certain areas.

But as the shackles were taken off live events with the removal of pandemic rules, the county came out in force to support its well-loved annual showcase at Ipswich's Trinity Park.

Two big factors are thought to have been in play - pent-up post-pandemic demand and the Jubilee bank holidays on June 2 and 3. The show - normally held on Wednesday and Thursday of the Whitsun half term was brought forward a day to take place on Tuesday, May 31, and Wednesday, June 1.

The second day drew such large crowds that the SAA had to open up overflow car parks few knew existed. Attractions included never-to-be-repeated events such as the Jubilee Pageant and an exhibition showing Suffolk's rich history and artefacts throughout the 70 years of the Queen's reign.

For show director Bruce Kerr it was a dazzling finale after an agonising three-year wait to host the event. Directors are voted in for three years - and he became the only one in its history to have to cancel two shows in a row as a result of the pandemic. He said he was "delighted" at the attendance figures.

"The support shown by all who visited was a great reward for all those who have spent the last three years planning and working on this years event, as well as our 300-plus volunteers who give up their time to help in staging the show," he said.

"It is great that all our exhibitors and stand-holders had the opportunity to show off their livestock and products to so many people and the atmosphere at the start of the Jubilee celebrations was very special."

For show president David Barker it marked another high in a long involvement with the event. As show director back in the 1990s he broke the record twice - once in 1994 (93,861) and then in 1997 (92,701). The day of Princess Diana's visit to the show in in 1986 and Bee Kemball's final show in 2019 also set records, he said.

He was thrilled to be involved again in such a momentous year.

"We didn't expect it to come back with such a bang. We thought it would be a staged recovery but it just came bang with a large number of people. They missed it, quite clearly," he said.

The atmosphere over the two days was "fantastic", he said. "I had the time of my life for two days."

He added: "It was just a refreshing opportunity to get out and so the sort of things we couldn't do for three years."

There has been a huge appetite for farm shows since their post-Covid return with other events such as the Hadleigh and Tendring Shows also enjoying great success.

SAA chief executive Phillip Ainsworth said as a result of the high numbers, trade stands also did very well - but even before the event got off the ground sponsors came out very strongly in support - meaning they beat targets on all fronts. They were "overwhelmed" by the positive response, he said.

It began to dawn on organisers that this year was going to be exceptionally big when overspill car parks started to fill up, he said. This was captured by a drone which he had flying over them to monitor the situation on the ground on both days, he explained.

"There's something like 800 cars the other side of Straight Road. That tells the story," he said. "I cannot recall such a busy day as our day two this year, just in terms of the number of people."

The post-Covid bounce-back was one element of its success, he felt, along with the second day falling just before the Jubilee weekend - meaning that some workers took that as part of their holiday. "I think a lot of working people would have said: 'I'm going to take the week off,'" he said.

Unusually for a very well attended show the weather was mixed - with some rain as well as warmer weather. Weather is normally a good barometer for attendance - and will go up as the temperature rises.

"It wasn't what you would call ideal show weather," admitted Phillip.

He added:"I think it was an unusual year and it's proving to be an unusual year for people involved in entertainments." It was often hard to predict these things because of so many variable factors but having set conservative targets this year, the show managed to surpass them all, he said.

"Trade stands had a good time here and we know this through our commissions - we did better than we thought we might," he said. "Sponsorship we were just amazed." In the end, sponsorship reached around the very high watermark of 2019, he explained.

The 2022 show has now set the bar high - and next year's event is likely to face a host of new challenges including the cost-of-living crisis. "There are some harder choices people will have to make and we are cognisant of that," he said.

Next year it will be up to farmer John Taylor - who succeeds Bruce Kerr as director - to organise the event. Bruce thanked him and fellow deputies James Nunn and Tony Pulham for their efforts this year.

"I would like to thank my show deputies for their tremendous support and to wish John Taylor a very successful tenure as he starts planning for the 2023 show as our new show director,” said Bruce.