| 2012 Rose of Tralee | |
|---|---|
| Date | 20–21 August 2012 |
| Presenters | Dáithí Ó Sé |
| Venue | Festival Dome, Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland |
| Broadcaster | RTÉ |
| Entrants | 32 |
| Winner | Nicola McEvoy (Luxembourg) |
The 2012 Rose of Tralee was the 54th edition of the annual Irish international festival, held on 20–21 August 2012 at the Festival Dome, in Tralee, County Kerry. Dáithí Ó Sé returned as host for the third time, just a matter of weeks after marrying the 2008 New Jersey Rose, Rita Talty. The Luxembourg Rose, 26-year-old Nicola McEvoy, was named as the 2012 International Rose of Tralee. Going into the show, the Dublin and Mayo Roses were tipped as the favourites to win with McEvoy not far behind them. The win for Luxembourg marked the first time they had ever won the event and they became the first European country to win the event in 10 years when Italy Rose Tamara Gervasoni became the 2002 International Rose of Tralee.
The background music for the event was composed by the Garda Síochána Orchestra.
The judges for the 2012 Rose of Tralee were; RTÉ's Mary Kennedy, Michael Kearney, CAO of The Carlton Hotel Group, Denise Murphy O'Sullivan, the 1991 Rose of Tralee, Paul Neeson, Retail Director of Dublin Airport Authority, Jan Dowling, Motivation Weight Management and Tom Curran, Kerry County manager.
Ireland and Munster rugby player Ronan O'Gara was present on the final night and presented the winning Rose with her sash and tiara. Irish band The Coronas also performed their song "Addicted to Progress" during the show.
2012 was the first year that the Denver Rose and the Tyrone Rose made it onto the televised Rose Selection.
| Regional Title | Contestant | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Boston & New England | Lissa Bramley | 27 |
| Chicago | Margaret Rose Keating | 23 |
| Cork | Brid Ryan | 27 |
| Darwin | Sheila McAndrew | 24 |
| Denver | Tiffany Antikainen | 22 |
| Down | Una Matthews | 23 |
| Dublin | Arlene O'Neill | 25 |
| Germany | Bronwyn Sass | 24 |
| Kerry | Ann-Marie Hayes | 24 |
| Kilkenny | Aoibhin Murphy | 18 |
| London | Nóra Ni Fhlannagáin | 23 |
| Louth | Patricia Marmion | 27 |
| Luxembourg | Nicola McEvoy | 26 |
| Mayo | Dervla Kenny | 26 |
| Melbourne | Claire Lynch | 25 |
| New Orleans | Lisa Brady | 21 |
| New York City | Annemarie Lynch | 22 |
| New Zealand | Alana Marshall | 25 |
| Ottawa | Avaleigh Eastman | 22 |
| Perth | Lorna Gallagher | 27 |
| Philadelphia | Elizabeth Spellman | 27 |
| Queensland | Ciara Phelan | 27 |
| South Australia | Sarah Doherty | 25 |
| Southern California | Erin Kelly | 23 |
| Sunderland | Talitha Orlandi | 21 |
| Sydney | Sophia Fitzgerald | 25 |
| Texas | Kelly Gaetano | 24 |
| Toronto | Máire Dineen | 23 |
| Tyrone | Catherine Sherry | 19 |
| Washington, D.C. | Briana Apgar | 21 |
| Waterford | Lorna Ferncombe | 26 |
| Westmeath | Aisling Baker | 21 |
The 2012 Rose of Tralee was broadcast live on RTÉ One and it was also streamed live on the RTÉ website for viewers all over the globe. The show received an audience share of 45%, the first time the audience share has dipped below 50% since 2008.
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