Ireland, which suffered disappointing results over the past years, will use the Opéracion Triunfo-format to select the Irish participant for 2003.
The auditions for the show are to take place across the country and wannabe Eurovision stars are being invited to attend. The broadcasting of the show will probably start in the autumn and will run for 20 weeks.
Around Christmas, a shortlist of final participants will be made and in the first weeks of the new year, the Irish telvision viewer will have the chance to hear the possible songs.
According to the website ESCOL, Irish fans of the contest have welcomed the change in format and it is predicted by many media analysts to give the contest a much needed boost in TV ratings within Ireland.
