Reserve your place at the 2012 Rose of Tralee International Festival

THE 2012 Rose of Tralee International Festival will take place from Friday 17th to Tuesday 21st August with so much for people of all ages to enjoy.

It is Ireland's largest and longest running festival. Since 1959, the heart of the festival is the selection of the Rose of Tralee which brings young women of Irish descent from around the world to County Kerry for a global celebration of Irish culture. The festival also includes street entertainment, carnival, live concerts, theatre, circus, markets, funfair, fireworks and our internationally renowned Rose Parade.

It is estimated that 200,000 people came to Tralee to enjoy the 2011 festival and they were not disappointed with what they saw - two spectacular fireworks displays, the Skyfest Airshow, FREE Sharon Shannon and Ryan Sheridan Concerts in the town centre and so much more.

There were floats, marching bands and a magnificent variety of free street entertainment to suit all ages throughout the five-days of the festival. Birds Amusements returned to the town centre and created a magnificent buzz and feel-good factor. There was face-painting, live music in the streets, bouncy castles, Fossetts Circus and Farmers Market all in a friendly safe environment.

The Festival Dome played host to one of the biggest acts in the world – Imelda Maye. The live Rose of Tralee Selections were a sell-out as were the Gala Rose Ball and Ireland’s biggest annual Fashion Show.

The 32 International Roses – 10 from Ireland, 9 from the USA, four from Australia, three from Great Britain, three from Canada,  one each from New Zealand, Dubai and Germany – brought with them a horde of supporters who in turn soaked up the atmosphere generated by a fun-packed programme of entertainment.

The Kerryman newspaper featured a story of how the well-known proprietor of Baily’s Corner, said that thanks to a great 2011 festival, he’ll now be able to afford to pay his tax, rates, rent, VAT and of course, his staff.

Such a story shows the importance of the Rose of Tralee International Festival to the local economy and that visitors to the town during the event will be made feel at home.

Accommodation providers, publicans, shop-keepers and taxi drivers are all looking forward to the return of some familiar faces, while they’ll extend a ‘céad mile fáilte’ to new faces in 2012.

Full details of the 2012 Rose of Tralee International Festival are available from www.roseoftralee.ie.