A Sligo Rose every two years

SLIGO will have an entrant in the Rose of Tralee every second year, beginning in 2020.

Organisers have decided to scrap the regional finals element and most counties will in future be sending a Rose very two years.

From 2019, each Centre will select a Rose bi-annually with the next Sligo Rose selection event taking place in 2020 with subsequent selections taking place every second year thereafter. Roses representing Kerry, Cork and Dublin will continue to be selected every year.

The Executive Chair of the Rose of Tralee International Festival, Anthony O’Gara, said:

“There is one challenging aspect to the present format that does not sit well with any of us and that we want to address, is the selection of 32 Roses from 66 for the TV Selection.

“Regardless of how sensitively we handle that, it is not in-keeping with our ethos or our tradition. Our focus is to celebrate and respect the passion and emotion, and indeed the time and financial investment that every Rose, her family and Centre invest with us.

“Even though the new structure will reduce income, we will find a means of overcoming this financial challenge for the International Festival. We appreciate that the change to the format is significant, but on balance we believe it will be a positive development that will enhance our Festival and protect its long-term future,” Anthony said. The search for the 2019 Rose has begun with entries already being submitted via www.roseoftralee.ie/apply.