THERE was more blooming great news for Tralee this week with the announcement that the town will represent Ireland at the world famous Entente Florale Competition in 2014.
A European Competition aimed at promoting a better quality of life, the Entente Florale is one of the most prestigious competitions of its kind in the world with towns from 11 other countries vying for the top prize.
The emphasis of the Entente Florale Competition will be on the partnership between the local authority and the local community working together to achieve goals and objectives such as the Tidy Towns and Top Tourism Town Awards.
The Chairman of the Tralee Tidy Towns Committee, Brendan O’Brien, said: “The hard work and dedication of the people involved in moving towards a better Tralee is certainly beginning to pay off. It was a wonderful achievement to win consecutive Gold Medals in the Tidy Towns and to be shortlisted in the Top 10 Tourism Towns Awards in 2013, but this recognition at international level is the icing on the cake.”
The International Jury, with representation from each member country, will visit Tralee early in 2014 to assess the town as a whole, including the complete urban and/or countryside area within the landscape.
The Adjudicators will focus on:
- Quality of landscape and vegetation
- Quality of natural and built environments
- Education and schools – ecology and green dimension
- Attractiveness and presentation – tourism and leisure policy
The CEO of Tralee Chamber Alliance, Kieran Ruttledge, said: “The most important objective during the preparation will be the arrangement of the tour, what to put in and what to leave out, to cover all the aims and objectives of Entente Florale within the designated time allowance for judging. We will only have seven hours in which to impress the Judges, so the timing allowed for the judging tour is critical.”
The judging tour will include a short presentation and the assessment tour through the urban area and landscape of Tralee. The most important areas will be visited by foot, so there is an onus on everyone to ensure that the town is spotless.
Kieran Ruttledge congratulated everyone who has been involved in the continuing success story of Tralee in 2013 and he encourage the entire town to get behind the effort to win an international award in 2014.
Notes to Editors about Entente Florale
The Association Europeenne pour le Fleurissement et le Paysage (AEFP) – the European Association for Flowers and Landscape is an international, non-profit association. The overall aim of the Association today is the social and cultural development and enhancement of the quality of life of urban dwellers, primarily through landscape development and horticulture.
To support its aims, the Association organises an international competition known as Entente Florale Europe in order to promote a greener and more pleasant environment in European towns and villages and to establish international contacts among the participants.
