Renewed Westmeath Bachelor Competition to open Mullingar Green Fest weekend
Preparations are in full swing for the all-new Westmeath Bachelor Competition and Ball on Friday March 13 next, the signature event of a new Mullingar Green Fest weekend.
The competition team have secured an A-list celebrity judging panel – Louis Walsh, Anne Doyle, Brian Dowling and Tara O’Farrell – and the presenters are local talent, Sarah Jane Foster and Shane Barkey.
In its heyday, the Westmeath Bachelor Competition was known nationally as a traditional but laid-back event that portrayed the male persona – in his 1980s limelight – whereas the new competition pursues a modern male identity.
With this in mind, the organisers have resurrected the competition, drawing inspiration from the past but promoting the modern, inclusive male presence.
In the 2020 edition, the Westmeath Bachelor Competition will have 12 participants, chosen to represent all that is good and attractive about a new and modern Ireland and the modern Irish man.
“Historically Ireland has looked to our female population to find an individual who is polished, poised, has a social conscience and is able to represent themselves on a national stage,” say the competition directors. “Now it is the turn of the gentlemen to shine.”
The candidates will go on a bonding tour to experience the best of Westmeath, and they will be suited and booted by Mullingar’s finest menswear outlets; Wilfs, Galvin For Men, Tom Bermingham Menswear and John P Foy Menswear. With a little help from the professionals at Profile Hair Design, the lads will be stage ready!
Then at the Mullingar Park Hotel on Friday March 13 a fun night of meeting Ireland’s most eligible bachelors from across the country and even abroad is promised!
The candidates will be accompanied on stage by their chaperones, where they will be handed over for an interview with hosts Shane Barkey and Sarah Jane Foster.
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The candidates will each represent a charity and they will give a run-down of the fundraising they have done for their chosen cause.
They will have to perform their party pieces before facing the judging panel for their scores and comments.
The Bachelors will battle it out for the top prize of €2,000 worth of shopping in Mullingar, a holiday worth €1,000, €500 for their chosen charity, and the signature Westmeath Bachelor Trophy piece along with the title of Westmeath Bachelor 2020.
The ladies will also have a chance to impress on the night as 12 female chaperones will be recruited to accompany the finalists, and the best dressed of the chaperones will benefit from a hefty prize on the night.
The black tie event promises to be the ultimate in entertainment, and not just from our bachelors, but with interval performances from some of Westmeath’s most talented performers and faces.
And the fun doesn’t stop once the winner is announced; The Happy Hour Band will then open the ball and there will be dancing into the small hours!
Pick up next week’s Westmeath Examiner to find out who the 12 bachelors are!
Tickets for the event are on sale now from www.westmeathbachelorcompetition.ie at €32.50 each (including booking charge); book now to avoid disappointment, as tickets selling fast.
• Westmeath Bachelor Competition, Friday March 13, 7.30pm, Mullingar Park Hotel.