The Rose of Tralee Festival will have 70 Roses taking part from 2016.
THE Rose of Tralee Festival will be extended to a week long Festival from 2016 onwards with 70 Rose contestants taking part and an extra night’s TV coverage.
More Roses, more Rose Escorts, more Rose Buds, more entertainment, more family fun and more visitors can only mean that Tralee will enjoy a major boost to the local economy beyond the €12 million that the Festival already delivers.
The Executive Chairman of the Rose of Tralee International Festival, Anthony O’Gara, said: “This is a positive development, not only for the town of Tralee but also for the Kingdom of Kerry as a whole. The people of Tralee and our Rose Centre organisers have been longing to bring all of our Roses to Tralee in August and from 2016, that dream will be realised.
“It’s a major, yet necessary, undertaking that will see us double our outlay in order to deliver a major windfall locally. I am confident that this bigger, better festival will have the support of the people and business community in Tralee. We expect the longer event with more participants from all over the world to attract more visitors to enjoy a week-long celebration in Tralee,” he said.
Full details of the format for the 2016 Rose of Tralee Selection, extended Festival and extra night’s TV coverage will be announced during the summer.
From 2016 onwards, the 70 Roses selected at regional events throughout the world will travel to and enjoy one massive Festival in Tralee in August and experience much more of what Kerry has to offer.
This year, however, will mark the end of the current qualifying process which has been in place for 11 years, eight of which were in Laois.
Since 2004 the number of Rose Centres has grown to 70, therefore necessitating a qualifying event at the end of May to find the 32 Roses who would appear on the televised selection in August.
Laois will again host this year’s Regional Festival from 28th to 31st May when RTÉ presenter Dáithí Ó Sé will meet 56 Roses from all over the world with 23 Roses qualifying for the 2015 televised selection in Tralee.
The extension to the duration of the Rose of Tralee Festival has come a week after plans were announced to build a permanent entertainment and conference centre on the site adjacent to Fels Point Hotel, home to the Festival since 2007.
Such a development, in partnership with Kerry County Council, will provide a major boost to the local economy in Tralee and Kerry.
More information about the 2015 Rose of Tralee International and Regional Festivals are available from RoseofTralee.ie
