Top shearer David Fagan will be the special guest at the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand's national Golden Fleece competition in Mosgiel this week.
The Otago-Taieri A&P Society is hosting the event, which is open to both fine- and strong-wool growers throughout New Zealand.
The competition has been held for more than 40 years and has moved around the country, although it had predominantly been hosted in the South Island as that was where most of the entries came from, RAS executive member Kelly Allison said.
While there were several entries this year from the North Island, most came from traditional wool-growing areas of the South Island, such as the Mackenzie, Maniototo and Upper Clutha areas. There were also quite a few entries from Southland.
There were 120 fleeces entered in the competition, which was on a par with last year.
It had exceeded the organisers' expectations, particularly given it was the first year Otago-Taieri had hosted it, Mr Allison said.
The entries, which will be judged tomorrow and on Wednesday, would all be of a high standard and he was expecting an impressive display, Mr Allison said.
The event will be open to the public from 2pm on Friday at the Mosgiel showgrounds.
The theme was a celebration of wool and the aim to show people how it could be used and how versatile it was, Mr Allison said.
Otago-Taieri will also host the Golden Fleece next year before it moves to Oxford in 2015.