The world’s greatest dog show is just one day away from opening its doors as the 128th edition of Crufts gets set to take centre stage.

Around 27,000 dogs of all shapes and sizes are heading to Birmingham’s NEC Arena to take part in the event, which this year features three new breeds.

The Black and Tan Coonhound, Russian Toy and White Swiss Shepherd are all competing at Crufts for the first time, taking their place as three of 220 different breeds that will be competing for a chance to win Best in Show.

The three breeds were all represented at the NEC Arena on Tuesday to help launch this year’s highlight moment, with dogs from 44 different countries set to attend in what is a try international event.

As well as the competition element, Crufts also features the Discover Dogs zone, where visitors can meet and greet around 200 breeds, speak to experts in each breed about what they are like to live with and care for, and find out which breed might be best suited to their lifestyle.

“The whole show is such a fun event for us,” explained Caroline Kisko, Secretary of The Kennel Club.

“It’s always very serious, we have to make sure that it all runs smoothly, but we love the fact that we’re surrounded by dogs – we have a really nice weekend and everybody has a great time around dogs.

“The real highlight has to be Best in Show but there are so many other things that take place that you have to look forward to, with displays, the trade stands and so many dogs to meet in Discover Dogs.

“There is something new and exciting and interesting that comes from every element of the show.

“The excitement is the thing everyone jobs, events like flyball and Best in Show are all tenterhook moments wondering what’s going to happen next.

“Every year has its own high spots, but we hope that those high spots are repeated in the following year.

“Over the four days we generally have around 27,000 dogs – 21,000 of those are entered in the breed competitions leading into Best in Show, and the rest are hear for the exhibitions and stands – there are an awful lot of dogs.”