The Grand Final of Wexford Has Talent 2016 takes place at Clayton Whites Hotel this Saturday, 30 January, and 17 acts have secured places on the stage.
Last Saturday, 18 semi-finalists performed in front of judges Vicky Clancy, Yvette Walsh, and Anita Cullen, and an audience of 300. The judges found the standard of talent overwhelmingly high and put forward 10 semi-finalists to perform at the Grand Final alongside the seven successful semi-finalists from the previous week’s semi-final.
MC George Lawlor announced the 10 qualifiers from Semi-Final 2: singer Chris Berry from Wexford Town, traditional music group INTRO, 16-year-old singer Hayley Crosbie, free runners VYRE, 11-year-old singer Emma O’Leary, gymnast Tara Doyle Robinson, 18-year-old singer Megan Kate Doolin from Bree, 12-year-old singer Jirat O’Neill from Gorey, 17-year-old singer Nicole Mannix from Cork, and musical group 7th Fret.
They join the seven finalists from Semi-Final 1: 11-year-old singer Cormac Cooper from Ballywilliam, dancer Irina Karpenko, singer Charleen Murphy, dance troupe Aurora from the Sheila Grace Dance Company, 12-year-old singer Aoife Goodison, singer-songwriter Rachel Grace, and Wexford band The Gallivants.
The winner of the Grand Final will receive a €2,000 cash prize.
This is the second year of the competition. The winners of the inaugural competition in 2015, Wexford band Fit For Kings, will return to perform at the 2016 Grand Final. They have since released their debut single, “Heartache.”
Commenting on the upcoming final, Walsh said, “This competition gets better and better, both of the semi finals were hugely entertaining evenings offering a real variety of talent and skills, it has been an honour to be involved until this stage and I don’t envy the judges for the Grand Final as I know it will be a tough decision to pick just one winner. I want to wish all of the acts the very best of luck this week and on the stage on Saturday evening.”
During the 2016 semi-finals and final, judges alone determine the placing of all acts, with no paid audience voting.
Tickets to the Grand Final are €15 and are on sale at Clayton Whites Hotel or from any member of the Wexford Has Talent organising committee. A family ticket for two adults and two children (under 16) is also available at €50. For pre-booking of family tickets, call 087 6707 220 or 086 6060 100.
For further details and Wexford Has Talent news, see wexfordhastalent.com.