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Rose of Tralee 2019, Sinead Flanagan will still be the reigning Rose when the festival returns in 2022. Photo by Dermot Crean
THE Rose of Tralee International Festival will not take place again this year. This was confirmed in an official statement from the organisers this afternoon.
The news will come as a blow to hospitality businesses in town who benefit hugely from the event. The Festival will return in August 2022 after a three year break.
The statement from CEO of the Festival, Anthony O’Gara, reads as follows…
“Since last year’s postponement, we have been working on how best we could safely deliver some, or all, of the 2021 Rose of Tralee International Festival events at home and abroad.
It has been a long and difficult 15 months for so many as a result of Covid-19, and its impact continues to be felt worldwide. The development, and the roll out of vaccines has brought much needed hope that a return to normal is in sight.
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Sadly, the timeframe envisaged to safely steer our communities out of this pandemic, and our responsibility to positively support those efforts, mean that we will not be able to have a Festival again this year, which is immensely disappointing for all of us involved.
Last year was the first time in our history that the Festival was postponed, and doing so again is difficult for everyone involved and of course for those supporters that look forward to celebrating our global Irish community each August, but we are confident it is the right decision as we all play our part right now in keeping each other safe and well.
The Rose of Tralee International Festival operates on a yearlong basis, in Irish communities worldwide; and we will continue to harness the goodwill of our extended Rose Family in supporting communities and charitable efforts over the next 12 months.
Similarly, we will each have a role to play in restoring our community and local economy following this pandemic, and we look forward to coming together in celebration in August 2022.
In the meantime, we salute the leadership and the selfless efforts of frontline and support staff everywhere; and among them the efforts by many of our Rose family.”
