Crufts 2023 at NEC Birmingham: When is Crufts, which dates, how much are tickets & when do they go on sale?

Dog lovers rejoice - Crufts 2023 is just around the corner. With plenty of pampered pooches on show, it’s bound to be a fun time at the NEC in Birmingham in March..

Hosted by the Kennel Club, Crufts 2023 in Birmingham is currently pencilled in for Thursday, March 9 - Saturday, March 12. The show will take place at the National Exhibition Centre, as it has every year since 1991.

Crufts is one of the longest-running dog shows in the world, being founded in 1891 by Charles Cruft. It contains numerous competitions, varying from obedience to flyball.

The most coveted prize at Crufts is the Best in Show award. In 2022, the award was won by a brown flat-coated retriever called Baxer. It’s not the first time a flat-coated retriever has won the award - in 2011, another dog of this breed, named Jet, claimed the prize.

The event was televised by the BBC every year until 2009. Since then, its new home has been on Channel 4.

The Junior Warrant final and the International Junior Handling competition will also take place in 2023 for the first time since 2020. For 2023, the International Junior Handling has been renamed to the The Joe Cartledge Memorial International Junior Handling competition.

Additionally, there will be a new exclusive breed class next year. In 2023, the Bavarian Mountain Hound will have its own category.

Vanessa McAlpine, Education and Events Executive, said: “We are very excited to be bringing Crufts back in its entirety this year, something we haven’t been able to do since pre covid. With many of the popular events back on the programme and the new one off competition celebrating The Kennel Club’s 150th anniversary, we look forward to it being one of the best shows yet, celebrating our dog heroes and what they have meant to us over the last few years.”

How to get tickets for Crufts 2023

Tickets are set to go on sale on November 14, with no presale. We will list the prices for the tickets when they are released to the public, as well as where you can purchase them.

How to enter your dog into Crufts 2023

If you’d like to enter your dog into Crufts, there are certain entry requirements you must meet. One method of gaining entry requires your dog to have won first, second or third prize in an event affiliated with the Kennel Club (this includes Crufts itself). Alternatively, if they have attained a Kennel Club Stud Book Number, they will be allowed to enter for life.

New dog breed events at Crufts 2023

These are the breed competitions that will take place in Crufts 2023, along with their designated days:

• Thursday: Gundog
• Friday: Working and Pastoral
• Saturday: Terrier and Hound
• Sunday: Utility and Toy

List of events at Crufts 2023

Thursday:

Agility – Championships (Intermediate/Large), Crufts Novice Cup Final

Breeders Competition

Friday:

Agility – Crufts Medium ABC and Intermediate/Large Novice ABC Final, Crufts Singles competition + Vulnerable Breed Competition

Saturday):

Agility – Crufts International Invitation, Young Kennel Club Agility Dog of the Year

Sunday:

Agility – Championships (Small/Medium)