Rejoice! RTÉ to broadcast third night of the Rose of Tralee

Festival will include 68 Roses in new, longer format

Ronan McGreevy meets Maria Walsh on her last day as the Rose of Tralee and the new holder of the tiara, Elysha Brennan. Video: Ronan McGreevy

The Rose of Tralee will move to a three-day television event this year to accommodate a change of format.

The selection process to choose the 32 Roses who participate in the live final on television will take place in Tralee.

In previous years the process of choosing 32 women from the 68 Rose centres worldwide took place at the regional finals in Portlaoise during May.

To accommodate the new format, RTÉ will broadcast an hour long documentary on Sunday, August 21st featuring the 68 Roses and their journey to Tralee.

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The live final will be broadcast on RTÉ One as usual on Monday, August 22nd and Tuesday, August 23rd.

The Rose of Tralee will now move from a five-day to a seven-day festival.

The 2015 Rose of Tralee Elysha Brennan has begun a nationwide tour to promote the festival and encourage women to take part.

"It is a testament to how big and successful the festival is that RTÉ is putting on an extra night," she said. "What other show in Ireland gets three nights on RTÉ?"

Ms Brennan said the new television format will allow the women involved to show another side to themselves. "It will give an insider look to what happens before you go on television."

Full details on how to become a Rose and an online application form are available from RoseofTralee.ie

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy is a news reporter with The Irish Times