Rose of Tralee coverage will now be over 3 nights

Just in case you were worried you wouldn't be getting enough Rose of Tralee action this year, RTE have decided they are going to extend coverage of the annual pageant to a third night. Although don't worry, that doesn't mean they are adding a shed load more Roses to the competition, they are just planning a special one-hour documentary on the night before they go live.

It's part of a plan to shake up the format of the Rose of Tralee festival which will now take place in the town over seven days rather than the previous five. Some other changes include whittling the Roses down from 68 to 32 in Tralee in the week of the festival, as opposed to a selection process in May as was previously done.

The documentary itself then will go out on Sunday August 21st and will trace the journey of all the qualifying Roses to the Festival while letting viewers know which contestants are selected to take part in the live shows that will take place on August 22nd and 23rd.

In a statement RTÉ said "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."

While last year's winning Rose, Elysha Brennan from Meath welcomed the changes saying;“This is great news for anyone who considers entering the 2016 Rose selection in their regions. Whoever is picked as their 2016 county, city or country Rose will travel to Tralee in August," she said.

Host Daithí Ó Sé told 2FM; "The International Rose of Tralee for 2016 will definitely stand out and will probably have more responsibilities than the past few Roses - but its going to be a great event".

Given the amount of viewers the show itself gets when it's on (we're talking Toy Show numbers here) no doubt the added night of Rose action will be welcomed.... by your mammy at least.