After a three-edition gap, we are now back in Izmedu once more thanks to the efforts of Dorotea Viskovic & Nenad Niksic in Anollasia. With this new wind, Izmedu extends its hosting record to bring that number to 8 hostings, staging the contest in the capital city of Vodiznad. The country of Izmedu is a small, primarily sea-fronted nation that's primarily known for being nestled in-between the sea and the mountains. Led by President Gabrijel Papic-Papratrovic, it is home to 2,188,000 people. It is primarily and culturally south slavic, with some romance (particularly Dalmatian) influences in both the architecture and the Izmeduan language. The current incarnation of Izmedu (the Democratic Republic) was born out of a bloody revolution, in which the country was trying to break away from a brutal dictatorship. In more recent history, Izmedu has found prominence in the international stage through its regular and sustained participation in major international song contests such as the World Hit Festival and the WorldVision Song Contest. It also has some investments in participating in sports events (with a successful appearance in the X Olympiad), but music is what Izmedu primarily is known for.
Izmedu has had a long history in the World Hit Festival, with this hosting also marking the 30th anniversary of Izmeduan participation in the contest. The early days of Izmedu's WHF participation were rocky, primarily being marked with withdrawals and a lack of organization as to what Izmedu's identity in the WHF would be. It was not until the 26th World Hit Festival was where (through the work of the outgoing Izmeduan head of delegation, Pavao Sintic) Izmedu began to establish the foundation of its current World Hit Festival trajectory. Under his tenure and guidance, he is responsible for overseeing the delegation that secured all of Izmedu's WHF victories and most of its podium places. The country, with Ivan Sandic, was also the overseer of the World Hit Festival from the 31st to 41st World Hit Festivals, being elected in the 30th edition.
The selection of the phrase, 'I Believe,' is a reflection of the culmination of not just the efforts all involved to make a World Hit Festival a reality, but is also an interpretation of the driving force of the mission that drives the World Hit Festival to become the prestigious and renowned music festival that it is today. What drives this festival is a strong and firm belief in the power of music. That power is simply not just the ability to become a popular hit or song, that power is the capacity for music to move people. It is a belief that music, whether bombastic, intimate, loud, small, filled with fireworks, with emotion, and even a combination of those, can change the world by helping a human being make it through the day via a shared and universal human experience. While the World Hit Festival makes for an eclectic and diverse set of musical traditions and experiences, what unites this festival in its project is a robust belief in music. Each artist, each song, and each second spent crafting these entries is utilized to help incite a feeling, an emotion.
Accordingly, RTI wanted a simple phrase that was both particular and universal. 'I Believe,' serves as a simple yet declaratory statement that drives the aims of what the channel wants to bring with its latest hosting. While previous Izmeduan themes have touched upon grandiosity, whimsical quirkiness, and utilizes music as an explicit jumping off point, RTI wanted an approach that was more intimate and that felt a touch more universal. Music will always be the driving force behind each hosting, but with this simple theme in mind, RTI hopes to reach forward with a universal message that helps grow and expand the World Hit Festival audience. We want people around the world, nations new and old to the festival, not only to believe in their music and their nation, but to believe in themselves even in times of precarity and struggle. We hope that this festival, beyond the glitz and glamour, also serves as an act of musical empowerment.
Alternative images
Unfiltered - Adviant Palace - A shot of a vacant Agnial Marketplace - A picture of a smaller marketplace Velikstav Walkway from the ground - Velikstav Walkway from the air
Vodiznad (population: ~593,000) is the Izmedu's capital and biggest city. As has been described by past hosting booklets, Vodiznad is also the oldest city founded in Izmedu and is the site for many of the country's historical artefacts, events, and is even argued to be the very site where the notion of an Izmeduan nation-state was even conceived of (via the Point of Croinova). This history is marked with bloody violence in Izmedu's past as an early nation-state, but recent developments have helped the country bridge its past, present, and future, towards a belief of Vodiznad becoming an even more global center. Vodiznad's most recent history is indeed marked with it becoming a much more musical city than in years past, being primarily influenced not just with the presence of the World Hit Festival, but with the crystallizing and popularity of the music festivals and local competitions that Vodiznad perpetually hosts. This legacy in music, in concert with other coastal cities (with Mousiki and Polumisec also lending a hand in their own, indirect ways), is what we'll explore.
While Vodiznad is the hub of all things cultural in Izmedu (engaging in a constant jousting with Polumisec for how many events they can host in any given year), Vodiznad has been making strides to truly emphasize how it is the country's bastion for music and the arts. While Vodiznad is not responsible for truly jump-starting the beginnings of Izmedu's musical landscape (that honor goes to Mousiki), many of Izmedu's current musical trends (metal, rap, pop ballads, dubstep, EDM) and leanings all found their start, their continuations, and their outcomes within this city. Part of how this manifests is through two landmarks in the city that RTI plans to utilize to help augment the World Hit Festival experience outside of the arena. These are the Velikstav Walkway and the Agnial Marketplace.
The Velikstav Walkaway is cited as being one of Vodiznad's most famous 'postcard' settings and is called the 'national walkway' among locals. Its original function was conceived of by old architect and city planner Jelena Takec in the city's early days. The Velikstav Walkway, despite its now prominence as a nigh-national symbol, was originally conceived of as a deliberately ornate walkway to in the hopes of defraying attention away from the brutal dictatorship that Tadija Damjan imposed upon the country. Thus, the history of the Velikstav Walkway and its inhabitans often changed. In the past, it was home to mostly artisan and state-sponsored stores, being an often common sight of the dictatorship to take 'pretty pictures' of the country. The main identity of the Velikstav Walkway (and how it would influence current Vodiznad culture) wouldn't manifest until after the Izmeduan revolution.
The walkway, as originally was conceived of back then, was torn down and re-built anew due to the destruction of the war. Turning away from poised presentation to a more wilder presentation, there was now a look towards entertainment and glamour. The roots of Izmeduan popular music were established when the new walkway began to organically develop into a place where live music performances can be heard. Artists such as Gordan Glavas, the brothers Delic, Anita Sabolic, and those of the older Izmeduan quadrant were helping establish not just a local music scene, but also a night life. When the music industry shifted once more towards a more electronic sound, the famed Ganer Klub was established as the hot spot in Vodiznad to be around. Arguably, it was in the Ganer was where Izmeduan dance music found its roots, with many of the country's most famous producers having found stints by being local DJs for the club's famous and infamous all nighters. Now, it stands as not only the symbolic beating heart of Vodiznad's belief in the future, it is now the hub of most non-central city activity and tourism. From night clubs, to famed eateries, and it being a popular spot for dances and impromptu concerts, there's always something brimming in this corner of Vodiznad.
The Agnial Marketplace's history isn't quite as long and extensive, but it also played a part in helping the city find its identity. The marketplace itself sits in the base of the Adviant Palace (another one of Izmedu's most famed structures) and isn't usually quite thought of as being on the cutting edge. However, what it does represent is a sustained holding place for not just market-goers to sell their wares, but it also became a popular spot for Izmeduan musicians, dancers, and more traditional artists to play their music to a daily audience. The Agnial Marketplace is in fact the birthplace of the Vodiznad Festival revival (VodiFest), a music festival that prides itself in being the most active and oldest music festival on-going in Izmedu. A makeshift stage would be created every single year in the Agnial Marketplace, and the contest itself was first an informal showcase of traditional south slavic music sung primarily in Izmeduan (it was a popular way for Mousikian klapa groups to gain domestic recognition). In more recent history, the Agnial Marketplace is now the place for Izmeduan dancers to play to a daily audience, and its name is a bit of a misnomer now as there's less wares and more entertainment.
For the upcoming World Hit Festival, WHF aims to use these two spaces as one of the two hubs to maximize visitors' and delegations' World Hit Festival experiences. Looking back to past World Hit Festival hostings, RTI aims to hold a sort of 'World Fair' for delegations that want to send their entrants in early or for delegations that plan to have an extended stay during media tours or postcard filmings. This 'World Fair' will first start off informally, with RTI inviting entrants to do public performances to local crowds well before the media blitz in the lead up to the rehearsals. During the rehearsal period, the Velikstav (particularly, the Ganer) will be the site of the World Hit Club. In the nights leading up to the festival and the nights after, the World Hit Party will be held and yes, there will be after-parties and all-nighters for delegations that want to have some fun. The Agnial will serve as the space of the 'World Fair' that aims to have countries, past WHF participants, and interested visitors showing off cultural artefacts of their nations or for those that want a more intimate venue for live performances.
RTI hopes your stay in Vodiznad will be an unforgettable one.
La Cianta Arena (capacity: ~25,000, temporary expansion to ~27,000 for WHF45) is Izmedu's largest and newest concert arena and known locally as The Centurium. Built in response to the need for a new arena due to increasing demand for music concerts and international engagements, the arena had its first major and successful international event with the hosting of the 34th World Hit Festival. Ever since that WHF hosting, the arena has gone from strength to strength in supporting the biggest concert engagements and audiences in Izmedu. Renowned artists such as Arijana Kovac, PRIAMAIKI, Anita Sabolic, and Gordan Glavas have played host to the arena for multi-day engagements that keep breaking the audience record. It was very clear that the arena was facing one problem as it began to age and as demand rose, the audience capacity needed to be increased bit by bit and some of the architecture needed to be refined just a bit more to help re-adjust the arena to newer practices. The stakeholders with the La Cianta wanted to avoid the kind of problems that plagued the Dragulj.
Thus, with the combined efforts of the original architect Ema Franicevic and a more junior figure to the scene, Ante Vidovic, La Cianta Arena was formally put up for renovation in the lead up to the 45th World Hit Festival. Its environmental and grid practices were top-notch for the country's limited resources, but a balance had to be struck without compromising the 'hollow egg' design that re-affirmed the arena. As Vodiznad put together their bid to convince RTI that they were the appropriate host, Franicevic and Vidovic noticed how certain parts of the arena were being under-utilized, almost to the point where it was re-envisioned as being used for possible space for a temporary expansion, as well as a possible foundation for a future renovation.
With this, the La Cianta Arena can safely seat up to around 27,000 participants for the festival. Theoretically, it can be speculated that 27,900 is the upper limit to which the internal expansion can safely handle. Regardless, this marks and reinforces the arena as Izmedu's largest indoor arena.
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Unfiltered - Rendered vision of the stage in use - The stage in pre-rehearsal form
Keeping in mind WHF34 as a past template and with the audience size being increased slightly, this left the stage with not quite as much space as ideally expected with the delegation in charge of planning the stage layout. Ultimately, this turned out to be a boon. Ilija Vukas, an up-and-coming stage designer after making waves in the past decade for his vision of re-inventing the Izmeduan theatre stage, was bought in to be the primary designer of the WHF45 stage. The primary goal for Vukas and the RTI team was to maintain a continuity with Vodiznad's past hosting while accommodating for the slight constraints. While this unfortunately means that the orchestra won't be making a return, the stage itself is now focused on simplicity, openness, and movement. This stage is an open rounded shape, allowing the performer as much space to move around as well as being big enough in scope to fit a respectably-sized dance troupe (about 8 to 15 to be safe).
The stage is capable of any effects a delegation needs. Pyrotechnics are available, as are aquatechnics (per request), holograms, intricate lighting effects, screens, etc. If you need any wild staging effects or even need to bring extra screens, RTI will help make your staging ideas a reality.
General LayoutAs described in the introductory paragraph, the stage is primarily designed as an openly rounded shape with as much move for performer(s) to play with. Primarily taking a cue with wide open rotundas for circus shows, can be somewhat modified to suit your performance needs. There is a retractable LED screen available that leads to a vast backstage space, which can be utilized by your performers if you want to make a special performance effect. Additionally, the stage floor is also an LED screen, and can be changed to either be paneled or smoothed out.
Auxiliary ScreensSpecifically for WHF45, auxiliary screens (as seen on the header) will be installed on the curved ceilings that correspond between the border of the audience and the stage. These screens can act as either LED screens or as additional light pillars.
TBD
Keeping in line with the recent hostings of the World Hit Festival, as well as this particular system being used across Vodiznad's hostings of the concept, RTI will maintain the system used forth by Anollasia for the 44th World Hit Festival. For those new to the WHF, not to worry! This will not affect how you vote. What will be described here is the mechanism with which the host reveals the votes. This schematic started with Kalosia's WHF26, in which the nation piloted and blueprinted the 2-phase voting system that has existed and manifested in various different forms up to the present day. The system that RTI will use will be as thus. For those looking for a reference, this exact system has been used in WHF29, WHF30, WHF34, and WHF41.
RTI will utilize as a two-phase voting reveal system.
Phase I of the voting will concern your lower votes (1-4). Simply put, we'll reveal the lower value points here nation-by-nation. We'll go through each nation's vote in a predetermined order in order heighten the suspense of the reveal. Your spokesperson will not be utilized here, as it'll be the host (via voting graphics) that will be revealing your points. In terms of numbers, 2/3rds of the total vote will be revealed here. Historically, Phase I has had a good success rate in predicting the eventual winner of the contest, but it does not always reveal the ultimate winner of the contest (case in point: WHF34).
Phase II of the voting will concern the highest points value a nation can give (5). This is where the voting will resemble more like Eurovision IRL. We'll roll up your spokesperson into our live feed, they'll say whatever they need to say, and the 5 points from your nation will be revealed to the world. In this phase, the last 1/3rd of the final vote will be revealed. While the total points values may be smaller, a nation receiving 5 points can and has caused dramatic shifts in the scoreboard. There are documented cases of a nation not doing well in Phase I, but have found themselves almost winning the entire contest. (the most recent case? Llalta's entry in WHF41. 1 point in Phase I, 35 points in Phase II. Llalta was only one point away from taking the trophy)
In the event of a tie, that's when we'll bring back that
Phase III. What happens in the event of a tie? We'll do a voting countback and utilize the traditional tiebreakers that have been utilized in past WHFs. These tiebreakers are most utilized to break first-place ties, but can also be used to break any other ties in the scoreboard.
However, I want to stress that going even down to the 3rd and 4th tiebreaker is rare. Historically, the 7th tiebreaker has happened only once (to my knowledge) in the festival's 44-edition history. That one occurrence? WHF26. In most practical cases of WHF ties, the 1st and 2nd tiebreakers are often the most common.
This also does not change how you vote. As per past World Hit Festivals under the Britonish Overseership, you are very much still required to send your votes to the host via a complete ranking. I will have more details for debutantes once we have a fuller list of nations up and running and once the draft thread is closed. For any of you that are continuing participants, the voting process will remain much the same as it has been since WHF42.
If you have any questions, I am always available via TG or Discord DM.