It’s time to pick the Roses
Ray McMenamin, The Kerryman, March 9, 2006
THE SEARCH for the 2006 Rose of Tralee has begun in earnest with sporting and business organisations, social and community groups from around the country being encouraged to put forward a Rose entrant.
Organisers of the competition hope to have a Rose entered from all 32 counties to compete to be one of 10 Irish girls who will go on to join 20 foreign Roses competing for the title of Rose of Tralee in August.
As with the competition proper, the selection process in each county will be run over two nights with contenders appearing on stage to speak with the local MC and, of course, perform their party-piece.
Once the individual county Roses have been selected they will continue on the regional final which will be hosted by Ray D’Arcy in Tralee on June 9 and 10. D’Arcy will also host the main event which will be held in The Brandon Hotel in August.
The final night of last year’s Rose of Tralee was the third most watched television programme in Ireland last year.
The climax to the Tralee festival was shown live on RTÉ 1 last August and a total of 881,000 people tuned in to see the Mayo Rose Aoibhínn Ní Shúilleabháin, crowned the 47th Rose of Tralee.
Only the final episode of You’re a Star, which had an audience of 916,000, and the Late Late Toy Show, with 1.1 million viewers, topped the final night of the Rose of Tralee in terms of ratings.
The winning Rose gets to travel Ireland and around world, represent a charity of her choice and be an ambassador for the festival.
This year’s festival takes place from August 18 – 22
From: The Kerryman
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