NationStates

IMPORTANT DATES
Host Bid Submission Close; Host Voting Opens - Monday 30th May 2016, 20:00 BST
Host Voting and Sign Ups Close - Monday 6th June 2016, 20:00 BST
Deadline for Entries; Voting Begins - Monday 20th June 2016, 20:00 BST
Voting Closes - Monday 27th June 2016, 20:00 BST

Welcome to Talvezout! For the fourth time in 10 contests, Talvezout will hopefully welcome you all once more to the beautiful island nation, for Worldvision 48. This time, the host city of choice is Phoda, one of the most isolated but beautiful cities located within the Talvezian Pacific Commune. Hopefully, this gorgeous city will be the location for Worldvision 48.

Phoda is one of the youngest of the ylimääräisten sijainti, or the auxiliary cities (capital of each island in Talvezout); the city was established in 1903 as a military settlement by the Talvezian Army. Due to the surprisingly harsh weather of the city (Phoda, and by extent Gżejjerżgħar Island are the only places within Talvezout where it reliably snows each winter) the settlement was abounded in 1907, before being inhabited by a group of hermits, artists, writers, and spiritually minded people in 1909. The city quickly made a name for itself as the unorthodox city of Talvezout, and by the 1920s the city was very much the center for Talvezout's underground political and art movements. When the Great Talvezian Rebellion came around by the 1930s, the city was the hub for the rebels, and as a result the city was extensively bombed by the Talvezian army, culminating with an atomic bomb air burst over the city in 1947. The city would remain sparsely inhabited until the 1960s, when General Maximilian Boschetti Boscho ordered the city to be re-inhabited once more, due to there being an overpopulation crisis on the main Talvezian islands. The city's art and music scene grew once more, and the affected generation of children who were forced to move to the played a key role, once grown up, in the People's Autumn Wars in 1996. Phoda was made a ylimääräisten sijainti in 2004.

As Talvezout is made up of more than 100+ islands, the culture of Talvezout is a eclectic mixture of various islands and peoples. Due to Talvezout successfully resisting the attempts of colonizing, the Talvezian culture, for the most part, has retained a fairly native element, with external influences only coming in during the mid-20th century. Gżejjerżgħar Island is a particularly notable island, both due to its size (Gżejjerżgħar is the third biggest island in the Talvezian Pacific Island Commune) and it's relative isolation from the rest of the main islands. Thus, Gżejjerżgħari, and by extension Phodian culture is seemingly more unchanged and traditional, compared to the more cosmopolitan tastes of the main Talvezian islands.

Like any other group of islands within any tropical area, Talvezout is a major destination for tourists all over the world. Whether it be for the arts, for the food, for the landscapes, or for something else, Talvezout is the main destination for all of these needs. And indeed, Talvezout will hopefully be the main destination for all Worldvision fans come Worldvision 48.

If you want to go fast and efficient, then flying is the way to go. Air Talvezia, the flag carrier for Talvezout, will be offering special travel packages for all Worldvision fans looking to get to Phoda for their musical merriment. Indeed, all of the major Talvezian airlines- Air Talvezia, Lentää, and All Pacific Airways- will be offering special deals and packages for travel to Talvezout, both for Worldvision and for other travel assortments. All of these flights are equipped with the highest standard catering and services, in addition to having spacious and comfortable seating areas for all flying passengers coming to the idyllic islands.

If you prefer the scenic but longer route, then sailing is the way for you. Vesi Cruise Lines, the main Talvezian nautical travel company, is also offering special packages and offers for those heading to Phoda for Worldvision. In addition, several of these cruise ships will be outfitted with Worldvision theming, including amongst other things a museum and exhibition on Worldvision history.

To complement the traveling and the sight-seeing, Talvezout's finest hotels, lodgings, and inns will be open for all Worldvision fans. As a addition to the travel packages, various hotels will be included in these travel packages and offers, all to make for an efficient and memorable stay in Talvezout. For the performers, all national delegations will be staying in five hotels located in and around the Phoda city area, with each delegation being able to chose the hotel of their choice.

Of course, music isn't the only reason why you might be coming to Talvezout. The islands of Talvezout offer up a variety of sights and sounds, from the snowy locales of the Santa Maria Archipelago to the balmy sights of the Hawaiian islands to the temperate coolness of Kylmää. Indeed, no matter what you are coming or looking for, the islands of Talvezout have something available for everyone.

TRT is planning to hopefully host this contest in the SuuriMarien Arena, a multi-use arena center located in downtown Phoda. The arena, able to host 15,000 thousand people, will be holding a state-of-the-art stage, in addition to featuring the green room being inside the arena.

An additional view of the stage. Second view.

The stage for this host bid was designed by the Talvezian architect Samira Hovi-Saliff. The stage itself represents the effect of music on the human ear; that is, the swirling surroundings of sound and noise, all coming together to make a melody. The stage itself features a LED screen at the center as well as floor; various screens can also drop from the ceiling of the arena, for any acts that request it. The stage this year also supports the usage of holograms (using HoloGrapher technology pioneered by TER Technical Industries), as well as pyrotechnics, water, smoke, fog, projections, explosions, strobe lights, fire, lasers, sparks, glitter and confetti cannons, arcs of electricity, Tesla coils, and various scents and smells. In addition, the center screen of the stage can rise and lower if nations want to make a grand entrance; there are four other such elevators on stage, located on the sides of the bottom screen. The two catwalks also have elevators as well. In addition, the "ribbons" that project out from the stage have the ability to move and change color, according to each nation sees fit.

For this year's bid, TRT decided to get two very specific people: a person who was a star within Talvezout and a person who already had experience with Worldvision. Thus, Sharon Bartlett, lead singer of the indie band The Suus and Nicholas Etżro, singer, writer, and Worldvision entrant for Wordlvision 46, were selected as the hosts. Both of the hosts do have experience in hosting a show like this, as Sharon Bartlett has been the perennial host for the Veridia Awards, Talvezout's highest artistic award, and Nicholas Etżro has also hosted the last two editions of the Veridia Awards as well.

As for the green room, TRT also chose another person very much qualified for the job. Amir Bensaïd is a Veridia winning journalist, reporter, and writer for TRT News, as well as being a famous children's author and TV show host. Amir's job for the contest is to be the host for the green room, the one who gets to ask all the interesting and not-so-interesting questions to the entrants here in Phoda.

As both of the hosts have musical experience, the opening act will be performed by the two. While the details of the hosts' opening performances are scarce, the details for the first part of the opening act, the orchestral opening provided by the TRT Broadcasting Radio & Television Orchestra have been revealed. The opening act will be a rendition of "Ode to Joy", provided both by the orchestra and the Phoda MAOSPOVS Choir. The performance itself will be, according to the official press release, "An introduction to the humorous look at Talvezout's history", which will make up the entire opening act itself.

The interval act will be a medley of songs performed by Laulua-Ihmiset, a Talvezian fado and folk band from Gaçe Island. The music of the group has been described as contemporary folk and upbeat traditions, and the group will also incorporate all of the performers of the contest, in some way, during the interval act.

The postcards for the bid have been designed by various art students at Phoda University. The concept for each postcard is simple; we have a picture of the nation's flag, their artist performing, and the information of the song, the artist, and the nation. The final part of each postcard will be uniquely tailored to each nation.

We hope you enjoyed the features of this bid, and TRT wishes that, where ever we go, that your Worldvision experience will be a fun and safe one.