International Rose Festival
The Festival today stems from Tralee's Carnival Queen. In 1957 Race Week Carnival was resurrected in Tralee that featured a Carnival Queen.
The first Festival in 1959 had Roses representing Tralee, London, Dublin, Birmingham and New York. Each Rose had to be a native of Tralee. This condition was relaxed in the early sixties. In 1967 "Irish birth or ancestry" became the criterion. As well as Ireland, the UK and the US, the Festival now has centres in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai and Luxembourg.
In the 1970s the title Rose of Tralee International Festival was used to strengthen the link to the song and to reflect the growth of the event worldwide.
The first Rose Selection took place at a dance. After a few years it moved to the Ashe Memorial Hall in Tralee town centre.
Every year more than 30 International Roses come to Tralee, supported by friends and family. The Festival comprises Rose Selection, family carnival, fashion show and live concerts, in addition to welcoming visitors and delegates from regions worldwide represented by each Rose. During this time the town's streets are transformed into a feast of parades, music, circus, funfair, markets and live performance.
The Gala International Rose Ball was introduced in the seventies.
Telefís Éireann first broadcast Rose Selection live in 1967 from a stage outside the Ashe Memorial Hall.
Since 1959 the Festival has grown, incorporating centres from all over the world. RTÉ's live coverage of the Rose selection has helped install the Festival in the national psyche, and it has remained their top rating show for many years, with nearly a million people tuning in for the 2008 result.
(View Live Coverage of 2012 International Rose Festival
Monday August 20, 2012 (3PM EDT)
and Tuesday, August 21, 2012 (3PM EDT) View Live)
