27/2/2020

Crufts Key Stats and Information 2020

Last year, Crufts welcomed a record attendance of over 166,500 visitors joining in the annual celebration of man’s best friend.

Almost 20,000 dogs will compete this year, including 3,171 dogs from overseas.

Leading this way once again, with more entries than any other overseas country is Italy with 366 dogs, followed closely by France (317), Germany (289) and the Netherlands (286).

Dog lovers can look forward to a record-breaking 15 hours of television coverage when Crufts returns to Channel 4 and More4 as follows:

THURSDAY 5th MARCH

1500-1600 – Channel 4

1830-2000 – More4

2000-2100 – Channel 4

FRIDAY 6th MARCH

1500-1600 – Channel 4

1830-1930 – More4

1930-2100 – Channel 4 Crufts

SATURDAY 7th MARCH

1630-1830 – Channel 4

1900-2100 – Channel 4

SUNDAY 8th MARCH

1630-1830 – Channel 4

1900-2100 – Channel 4     Crufts 2020: Best In Show Live

This is the 16th year that Clare Balding has presented Crufts. Clare will host daily highlights of the world's most famous dog event live from the NEC and will be joined by a team of reporters and canine experts who will be reporting from the show.

The exciting climax of Crufts – Best in Show – will be judged at 8.30pm on Sunday 8th March and will be shown live on Channel 4.

The Barbet – an ancient French breed – will be making its showing debut at Crufts, competing in the Imported Breed Register classes on Friday 6th March.

Over 200 breeds of dog are competing for the ultimate title, Best in Show.

Scruffts will be returning to Crufts on Saturday 7th March. At 2pm, 24 dogs and their owners will compete in the semi-finals after qualifying at local heats across the country. Each semi-finalists will compete in one of the four classes taking place in the GCDS Ring: Most Handsome Dog Crossbreed, Prettiest Crossbreed Bitch, Goldie Oldie Crossbreed and Good Citizen Dog Scheme, before four lucky crossbreeds will go through to the final in the Resorts World Arena. The finalists will be judged by TV personalities, Sally Phillips and Ronni Ancona.

The dog hero competition, Friends for Life, takes place on Sunday March 8th at 5.20pm. Friends for Life celebrates heart-warming stories of friendship in adversity, where dogs have changed the lives of their owners through bravery, support or companionship. The five dogs which made the 2020 final were selected by a panel of Kennel Club judges. Watch the heart-warming videos and vote for your favourite story by visiting www.crufts.org.uk/ffl.

All of the arena action from the show will also be shown on the Crufts YouTube channel which can be found at www.youtube.com/crufts.

Did you know?

  • Crufts began in 1891.
  • Hundreds of crossbreeds take part in Crufts, through agility, flyball, obedience, heelwork to music, Scruffts and Friends for Life competitions.
  • There have been 82 Best in Show winners, with 44 different breeds winning the title over the years.
  • The Cocker Spaniel has won the most Best in Show titles, with seven wins, followed by the Irish Setter, Poodle and Welsh Terrier which have won on four occasions each.
  • The first Best in Show was won by a Greyhound.
  • Vulnerable British and Irish native breeds have won Best in Show at Crufts a total of eight times.
  • Crufts covers more than 25 acres of the NEC in Birmingham. This includes five halls, and the Resorts World Arena.
  • 5,041 people volunteered at Crufts 2019, from stewards to the breed experts in the Discover Dogs area and more are expected to join this year.
  • The most popular entries in each group by breed are:

Working: Siberian Husky - 184

Pastoral: Border Collie – 303

Terrier: Staffordshire Bull Terrier – 341

Hound: Whippet – 388

Toy: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel – 286

Utility: Bulldog – 235

Gundog: Labrador Retriever – 543

  • This year has seen an increase of 50 per cent or more in the entries for the Laekenois Belgian Shepherd Dog, Maremma Sheepdog, Glen of Imaal Terrier and Portuguese Podengo compared with 2019.
  • In contrast, the Basset Bleu de Gascogne and the Foxhound have drawn just four entries apiece, which highlights the fact that the show is a true celebration of all dogs, from the well-known to the highly unusual.
  • The oldest dog to win Best in Show was a Flat Coated Retriever, Jet, aged 9 years and 7 months, in 2011.
  • The youngest dog to win Best in Show was a Bulldog, aged 1 year and 3 months, in 1952.
  • Only one parent and offspring pair have won Best in Show at Crufts – Irish Setter sire and son in 1993 and 1999 respectively. Both had the same owner, Jackie Lorrimer.
  • A small number of exhibitors have won Best in Show at Crufts twice, but only one kennel has bred two winners. Mike Gadsby and Jason Lynn bred a Standard Poodle which won in 2014 and an American Cocker Spaniel which won in 2017. Both were handled and co-owned by Jason.
  • Competitors from 42 different overseas countries have entered Crufts this year.