This year the world-renowned International Rose of Tralee Festival is celebrating 50 years and promises an even bigger and better festival than ever before. Popular as ever, The International Rose of Tralee Festival is one of Ireland’s longest running festivals of its kind.
For further details on The Rose of Tralee Festival 2009 please read on….
Each year the town of Tralee, located in southwest Ireland, in the beautiful County of Kerry, plays host to the International Rose of Tralee Festival. During the month of August, Tralee welcomes women of Irish descent from Ireland and around the world to represent their county, or country in a celebration of Irish heritage, and what it is to be Irish.
This year The Rose of Tralee Festival will run from 21st August to 29th August 2009. The Rose of Tralee is not a beauty pageant, all contestants are judged on their over-all personality and suitability to serve as ambassadors for the festival and Ireland. Each county in Ireland selects a Rose to represent their county and International Roses are also chosen from around the world to participate in the Rose of Tralee festival.
The Rose of Tralee Festival welcomes over 30 candidates to the festival along with friends and family who come to show their support and holiday in Ireland. The Festival runs for a week which is packed with plenty entertainment and fun. A Rose Gala Ball accommodating over 900 guests is just one of the many highlights during the festival. People who attend the gala ball enjoy a five-course meal, music and entertainment. Style, glitz and glamour are the theme of the night.
The main highlight of the festival of course is the ‘Rose Selection’ which takes place during the last two nights of the festival. The Rose Selection is televised from the Festival Dome this year on Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th of August where millions of viewers will tune in to see the contestants. This year’s festival will be broadcast live by RTÉ from the Festival Dome and will be hosted by Ray D’Arcy. During these two nights Ray will speak with each contestant discussing their Irish connections, their life, ambitions and much more. Contestants are also given the opportunity to perform a party piece that can range from a song, dance, play music, recite a poem etc.
On the second night of the Rose Selection, one lucky lady is crowned ‘The Rose of Tralee’. When The Rose of Tralee is crowned, it is tradition that the well-known song ‘Rose of Tralee’ is sung to the newly crowned Rose.
After the coronation, a ‘Midnight Madness Parade’ takes place led by the newly crowned Rose of Tralee. A firework extravaganza follows the parade lighting up the Tralee skies in celebration.
During the festival Tralee entertains people of all ages and includes: a family carnival, fashion show, live concerts, buzzing atmosphere, sporting events and much more. During this time, the streets of Tralee light up and pave the way to colourful parades, music, song, dance, circus, funfair, stalls, markets and live performances. In addition to all the events taking place during the festival, you can also enjoy Birds Fun Fair and Fossetts circus by day and by night on the streets of Tralee.
The International Rose of Tralee is a festival that connects Irish communities all over the world - Celebrating 50 years, this year’s Rose of Tralee is a festival not to be missed.
For further details on this years Rose of Tralee Festival check out the official Rose of Tralee Festival website.
Looking for somewhere to stay in Tralee? Check out our Tralee hotels page.
Have you visited The Rose of Tralee Festival? Perhaps you are planning on visiting this year’s festival? Have you predicted a winner? As always we would love to hear from you.
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