The Rose of Tralee is set for a huge revamp this year as RTÉ’s coverage of the competition is being extended to three nights, rather than the usual two.
The International festival, which is hosted in Tralee in Co. Kerry, will screen a special one hour documentary the night before the live shows.
The documentary will air on RTÉ on Sunday August 21, and will follow the journey of all the qualifying Roses to the competition – giving viewers a more personal insight into who the Roses are.
Revamp: This year we will get a closer look at who the Roses are in a documentary | TONY KINLAN
The documentary addition is just one part of the contest’s revamp, as 2016 we will see all 68 Roses who qualify travel to Tralee, but only 32 of the girls will make it to the live shows.
This year the selection process will take place in Tralee during the festival, unlike previous years when the selection process took place before the contest in May, changing the festival from a five day to a seven day event.
The live shows will then be aired on August 22 and 23 from the Festival Dome and will be presented once again by Daithà Ó Sé.
He’s back: Despite the change up, Daithà will be back to host the contest | TONY KINLAN
Speaking about the change-up, RTÉ released a statement saying: “The Rose of Tralee continues to be a huge success story on RTÉ One and we’re looking forward to having it back on our screens in the summer.”
“This year we will have an extra hour-long behind-the-scenes show which will go out on the Sunday before the finals.”
Meanwhile, Daithà Ó Sé spoke about the popularity of the contest – admitting people are quick to knock the pageant but everyone watches it.
