World Hit Festival 50 - Vodiznad, Izmedu | OOC&DISCUSSION

[Britonisea]

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DRAFT THREAD - IC THREAD - NSWIKI PAGE

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Welcome to Izmedu for the 50th World Hit Festival!

As Izmedu won their eighth World Hit Festival at the 49th World Hit Festival in Alshkan, Britonisea, Izmedu became the nation to have won the most amount of contests at the World Hit Festival - which makes them hosting the semi-centennial edition of the World Hit Festival very special. Franjo Kozina with the song "Life's Passed Me By" managed to win the hearts of those watching by winning the Festival with a total of 27 points, battling off the 18 very strong entries all vying to be the hosts of this all-important edition. I most certainly enjoyed the song and I'm thrilled that Vodiznad will be hosting once again.

It is a bittersweet edition for Britonisea and I. While we are happy to see the 50th World Hit Festival, that we have finally made it to the end, we are sad that we are no longer going to be your Overseers for the World Hit Festival that we have built altogether. It has been a fantastic run of World Hit Festivals, and I cannot wait for the 50th World Hit Festival to take place - the final time we will see Britonish involvement right at the top. However, it is now time for a new Overseer and that is very exciting! Nations and broadcasters are allowed to submit a manifesto explaining why they would like to be the New Overseer with information on this being followed below.

We would like for this Festival to be our largest World Hit Festival yet. We are aiming for 28+ nations to participate. Remember, if 35+ nations participate, we will be initiating automatic qualifiers going through to the Grand Final (Izmedu, Britonisea, Llalta, Fromulya, Achaean Republic).

Right, see you all in Vodiznad for what will be an amazing World Hit Festival!

Fabio McAlpine
World Hit Festival Overseer

What is the World Hit Festival?
The World Hit Festival (WHF) is a multiversal song competition. Each nation shall enter 1 song and 1 artist, and it shall be 'performed' via roleplay. Most nations tend to use a real-life tune as a musical backing, but every entry submitted to the World Hit Festival is required to have original lyrics (ie. if you submit a tune, you must re-write the lyrics), so this does mean that instrumental entries are blocked from entering the contest.

WHF operates with three threads, the OOC, Draft, and IC threads. The one you are seeing now is the OOC/Sign-ups thread, the main place for you to discuss the contest, reveal your entrant, etc. All OOC chatter goes here. The Draft Thread, opened by the host, is the second thread opened up during a WHF contest, and this draft thread is where nations will post and work on their entries until a deadline determined by the host. The IC thread, also opened by the host is the third and final thread attached to a WHF, and it is where the host will transfer your entries.

The World Hit Festival has had a very long history in NationStates, and a thread by the second overseer (Euskirribakondara) has been created to compile this long history. Click here for a thread with links to every OOC and IC thread of all World Hit Festivals so far. Click this for a statistical database of all WHF participants. For winners, click here to see a full list of all WHF winners with links to their entries.

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Schedule

Draft Thread Opens - 2nd February 2020 (open for extra six days)
Sign-Ups Close - 22nd February 2020, 6pm (open for a longer time)
Draft Thread Closes - 23rd February 2020 (23rd - 24 hour period and setting up IC, listenalong on 24th evening UK time)
Voting Deadline - 1st March 2020
Winner Known By - 8th March 2020 14th March 2020

New Overseer Schedule

5TH WORLD HIT FESTIVAL OVERSEER ELECTIONS
Open Invitation - 19th January 2020 (at the Opening of the WHF50 thread).
Closed Invitation - 2nd February 2020 (for a week it will be open and they'll be contacted before the 3rd)
Overseer Vote - 9th February 2020 - 16th February 2020 (along with the JWHF7 bidding)

Participating
If you would like to participate at the World Hit Festival, please complete the form below.

Code: Select all

[box][b]Nation:[/b]
[b]Broadcaster:[/b]

[b]Song Title:[/b]
[b]Artist:[/b]
[b]Language(s):[/b]
[b]Title Transcription (if required):[/b]
[b]Title Translation (if required):[/b]
[b]Tune:[/b]
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[i]Host Requirement[/i]
[b]Your Trigramme:[/b]
___


[b]Head of Delegation (if not already provided):[/b]
[/box]

For WHF veterans, this sign-up form will look very familiar as it is the same sign-up form for the past 15 editions. However, for debutantes, I have provided a sample application using WHF32's winning entry in a spoiler, with explanations in brackets.

Nation: Euskirribakondara (name of your nation goes here)
Broadcaster: EUSK1 (name of your broadcaster goes here, and this is usually your national broadcaster that would broadcast the WHF. For a real life comparison, think of the BBC in the UK.)

Song Title: "По, Дај Ми Любавте" (name of your song)
Artist: Nadija Djokanović (the name of the artist that will 'perform' the song in your roleplay.)
Language(s): Sirbadian, Euskal, Hinga (the language(s) that your lyrics will be performed in)
Title Transcription (if required): "Po, Daj Mi Ljubavte" (if your song's language utilizes another script such as Cyrillic, you would put the romanization of that title here. In this example, По, Дај Ми Любавте is Po, Daj Mi Ljubavte. Otherwise, this part can be omitted.)
Title Translation (if required): Come On, Give Me Your Love (the translation of your song's title to English. If your song is in English already, this part can also be omitted.)
Tune: Here (most WHF tunes will have tunes attached to them, such as this entry using Poli Genova's If Love Was a Crime. If you are using a tune, do provide a link of the tune in this form. However, there are cases in which users do not submit a tune and use self-penned songs, in which case, filling out this part is not required.)

Your Trigramme: You three letter national code that will be used during the broadcast of the 47th World Hit Festival. In case of a dispute, nations registered on the NS list of trigrammes will take priority before a "first come, first serve" rule.

Head of Delegation: (The Head of Delegation is the person who is in charge of your delegation at the 49th World Hit Festival. If you have already provided information about this, you do not have to fill this part of the form out)

Participating Nations: As of February 22nd February 2020 - FINAL LIST

1. Achaean Republic [AS1] Por Ciento - Sinceramente
2. Axuva [WEN]
3. Bayilan [B7] Najwa - My Baby/Lets Get Loud
4. Beepee [BONC] Eileen Dover - Inside Me
5. Besmenien [BRF 1] Die Befanters - Hier kommt Tom
6. Besen [BSB] Eliane Poreanca - Too Cold to Care About Feeling
7. Britonisea [BVC] Meghan Jorgensen - Waiting For You
8. Darkmania [DaTV] KANDYSE - Lÿn
9. Electrum
10. Electrum Diplomatic Offices
11. Ertzei Kishim [HARESHET]
12. Estogium [RVC] Elias Nordin - Do Not Look Back
13. Ethane
14. Fatiman Federation [RTVF] Angelica Magsaysay - Cherish Life
15. Free Republics [WOLF News Channel] Bruno Milani - Ye Nichollites by Name
16. Fromulya
17. Imperial Joseon Da-Hye - Life (인생)
18. Izmedu [RTI - HOST] Poslie Postojanje - Battle Cry
19. Kalmarlund [K×T] Angelica Sandell - Warrior
20. Kalosia [RTVK]
21. Kannap [KEN]
22. Kassegrochia [Tre Televisija] Artyom - I Won't Break
23. Llalta [LBN]
24. Malta Comino Gozo
25. Mercedini [TeleDini] Alicia Mocha - Nothing Left To Fight For
26. Nahlcomo [PRTOFCN] Massey Massie - No
27. Natanya [NTV]
28. Normandy and Picardy [SRNP] Marie Traveur and Orchestron - O Tempora
29. Nightom [KVC] GAELE ft Zorsia - Just Can't Be Ya
30. Polkopia [PNB] Vanessa Anisimova - Better Love
31. Skanden
32. Talvezout [TRT] Agnoeítai - Gotta See It Through
33. Teesdexxia [TBA] Maria Cwtsh - Innocents
34. The Hlhata States
35. The Sarian [TVN1] Lukas Kamer - Palmer
36. Tödlichebujoku [Estegoa100]
37. Togonistan [Lucky7] Stacy Lekker & Apikaila Kuresa - Graceful Winow
38. Vartugia [WTF] The Izmeduan Liberation Choir For The Movement For Däryana To Represent Her Native Izmedu - Let Däryana represent Izmedu (Yes. I will)
39. Vdara
40. Wazekia

National Finals

• Llalta [LBN] - LlaltaVision
• Tödlichebujoku [Estegoa100] - Sinun Valintasi: Starfall

Rules and Procedures

Contest

1. A nation is allowed to submit 2 puppets maximum to the contest, meaning that a user can be controlling at most 3 nations in the contest.
2. Nations must send a full ranking of all nations on the IC Thread to the host of the competition when the voting opens.
3. The nation ranked first will receive 5 points, the nation ranked second will receive 4 points etc. Nations ranked 6th or below will not receive any points.
4. Users are allowed to receive 8 points maximum from their puppets. Meaning, a user with three nations can use Nation B and C (with B and C giving 4 points each) to give Nation A 8 points total, but nothing more.
5. If there is a draw the countback system goes as follows: Amount of nations - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - First To Send Full Votes To Host.
6. A nation is also expected to vote, but there is no penalty for not voting. The host will make up your votes in the event that they do not have your votes. Nations are expected not to reveal whether they have voted or not. Only the Host (and the Overseer if needs be) should know who has voted and who hasn't.
7. All or at least most of the written lyrics must be original. Should any user spot any concerns, don't hesitate to let the overseer or current host know.
8. In order for Semi Finals to be initiated, there must be enough nations for there to be 14 nations per Semi Final. The number of participants before Semi Finals are initiated will be dependent on circumstances.
9. In the event of there being 35 or more complete entries, the top 5 from last edition (including the host) will qualify automatically to the Grand Final.

Hosting

1. The winner of the competition will automatically be given the right to host the competition. The winner will have 72 hours (maximum) to announce their interest in hosting the Festival to the Overseer.
2. The host must not reveal their acceptance of hosting until the Overseer has announced it on the WHF Network.
3. If within the first 72 hours, the host either doesn't announce their interest in hosting the proceeding contest or declines hosting rights, the nation who came 2nd will be asked. If declined five times, the World Hit Overseer has to host the World Hit Festival.
4. If the host abandons their host duties, the World Hit Overseer will be responsible for what left needs to be done.
5. We would like to ensure all World Hit Festival hosts can host the competition to the best of their ability. If you have any concerns about hosting if given the opportunity to, don't hesitate to speak to the World Hit Overseer.

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Details about WHF50 / Our Discord Server

For those wanting a look at the immediate past, here are a collection of links to the most recent WHF: OOC Thread - Draft Thread - IC Thread

[Britonisea]

5TH WORLD HIT FESTIVAL OVERSEER ELECTIONS
[1st elections] • [2nd elections] (cancelled, announcement of third overseer) • [3rd elections] • [4th elections]

What is the Overseer position?
The position of the World Hit Festival Overseer is the most critical position in the contest. Much like the WorldVision Committee, the Overseer's responsibility is to coordinate with hosts edition-to-edition, set up the sign-ups thread, make sure the hosts are on-track with their responsibilities, and also to make sure that the rules are enforced. As there is only one Overseer in any given term, being elected into this position means you have the power to change this contest as you see fit.

The current Overseer will be working on a guide to the World Hit Festival to help aid the newly elected overseer.

1. Maintain the World Hit Festival's OOC thread and coordinate sign-ups.
2. Be in contact with the host throughout the contest to ensure the contest is running smoothly.
3. Write and enforce the rules of the World Hit Festival.
4. Make sure to keep the World Hit Festival and its Junior version active.

Schedule

Open Application Deadline: 2nd February 2020
Invited Application Deadline: 9th February 2020
Voting Deadline: 16th February 2020

Over the next couple of weeks, users who wish to assume the role must complete and post the following form:

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[align=center][b][color=#FF0000][u]< < < < < < < < < < I WISH TO BECOME THE WHF OVERSEER > > > > > > > > > >[/u][/color][/b][/align][box][b]Nation name:[/b]
[b]Debuting edition (as user):[/b]
[b]Total number of participations (as user):[/b]
[b]Leadership/hosting experience:[/b]

[b]Why I should be elected:[/b]
[b]How I can make WHF better: [/b][/box]

< < < < < < < < < < I WISH TO BECOME THE WHF OVERSEER > > > > > > > > > >

Nation name: self-explanatory
Debuting edition (as user): Use the edition you debuted as the user not as your nation. For example, if I debut in WHF15 using Izmedu but was now another country in WHF40, I would list my debut as WHF15.
Total number of participations (as user): Total number of editions in which you've entered any one country.
Leadership/hosting experience: Put any experience you have here with either hosting or leadership positions. Your WorldVision experience absolutely counts here if you are a committee member/former host. Additionally, former hosts or overseers of WHF are free to put their experience here. If you do not have direct WorldVision or World Hit Festival experience, feel free to put in whatever experience you think could be comparable and transferable to this position.

Why I should be elected: Basically put your manifesto here. Explain why you think you should be elected as the new overseer of the World Hit Festival.
How I can make WHF better: Similar as the above but emphasize the parts that you wants to see improved or even new things you'd like to see. If you have a vision to how to make the WHF better, describe that vision here,

How will this work?
The way this election will work will be similar to the 4th WHF overseer elections. You will have one week to complete the form above. The initial period is the Open Application, which means anyone that has successfully participated in at least one World Hit Festival contest are eligible to apply and post the form above. I encourage anyone who is interested in running right now to try your hand in running for the position.

The Invited Application part is tentative. Essentially, if the overseer determines that there are not enough candidates that file during the open application period to make a fair election, the overseer will then invite nations that they personally believe can be trusted to make a good case for themselves in the elections. However, these invitations will only be determined after the open application deadline has passed.

Additionally, the current WHF overseer will also have their name on the ballot. Much like in the 4th election, this is only done as a failsafe. There will be no active campaigning from the current overseer.

Both open and invited applicants are required to fill out the form above. After there are enough users who have applied, voting can then begin in earnest. A ballot will be sent out with the complete list of applicants and links to their applications. Users will then be asked to send a TG to the overseer ranking their preference, their first choice being their most preferred down to their last choice being their least. When the new overseer is elected, any remaining time will be spent from WHF50 to WHF51 training the new overseer.

The current overseer wishes you all good luck and encourages as many nations as possible to apply. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to TG me or Discord DM me.

List of Running Users
Darkmania
Natanya

[Izmedu]

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After a close win in the jointly hosted Brito-Estogium 49th World Hit Festival thanks to Franjo Kozina, Izmedu is proud to take the reigns of the 50th anniversary edition. This follows up on hosting the Orchestra Special Edition in Polumisec, marking the 50th World Hit Festival as Izmedu’s 10th hosting of the contest. The country once more stages the contest in Vodiznad. We here at RTI are happy to welcome nations both old and new to our country. And we are proud to help celebrate the milestone celebration for the contest as a whole.

Izmedu is a primarily sea-side nation, named for being nestled between the sea and the mountains. The country is known for its music scene and the immense tourism brought on due to participation and hosting the World Hit Festival. The country is fairly small in size and Mediterranean in climate. Home to 2,225,000 people, the country has been able to grow due to the sustained international exposure to contests such as the WHF and the WorldVision Song Contest. The country itself is culturally South Slavic and Dalmatian, locating itself inbetween those two cultures. This bears out in the country’s most famous landmarks and in its language. The architecture (especially in the country’s coastal cities) is noted for its distinct Dalmatian influence while the language, culture, and mannerisms take cues from Dalmatian custom and South Slavic (particularly Croatian) culture. Suitably, the country is striving towards a ‘slavo-romantic’ identity.

Izmedu has a long history in the World Hit Festival. Debuting in the 15th edition of the World Hit Festival, the early editions of the festival were tumultuous for RTI. Though the country did find success in entries through the form of Nada Markusic, Senka, etc, the channel did not have a strongly dedicated or even stable WHF team to help commit the channel and the country to the contest. Thus, the early WHF period for Izmedu was marked with a series of withdrawals. It was not until the 26th World Hit Festival that the country’s fortunes began to resemble the resounding success of today. Led by then Head of Delegation Pavao Sintic, he would aid the World Hit Festival team to Izmedu’s numerous victories on the WHF stage. The country went from strength to strength as it became one of the most successful nations in WHF history, with a win count that now amounts to 8 wins.

From all of us here at RTI, we wish to give you a very warm welcome to our country. Together, we will celebrate the everlasting legacy of the World Hit Festival.

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After 50 editions, six editions of the Junior festival, five overseers, and the countless amount of nations that participate in the World Hit Festival edition in and edition out, contemplating the large and looming legacy of the WHF seems to be a task almost too intimidating and large to undertake. There is a lot for us to celebrate and that is the very magic of the World Hit Festival. Deeply imbibed in the music, the hosting, the overseership of the contest, to even the little things that make up your entry is the fact that you are leaving a legacy in the name of music. These legacies may be small or large, maybe it’s an entry from an edition that you haven’t thought about in a while, the entry that nearly won, to the entry that did, and to entries that may have not have placed as well as you hoped or anywhere inbetween. There’s so many entries and nations that make up our patchwork called the World Hit Festival, but they mattered. The fact that they entered our contest and made their mark here, no matter how small, is what keeps this contest alive and thriving to our present day. We want to celebrate the legacy, past and present, that the World Hit Festival created and will continue to create in the future.

Thus, the theme is a reflection and celebration of the World Hit Festival itself. We want to celebrate the legacy and longevity of the World Hit Festival, a legacy that we hope can live a lifetime for the many people that help make the contest possible. This theme marks the direction that we at RTI hope to embark as we plan out the logistics of the contest. First, we want to celebrate WHF’s storied and legendary past and reflect back on the legacy of what came before us. Second, we want to celebrate what that legacy is doing for our present and how we’ve grown and progressed from that legacy, the differences and similarities, and what makes the WHF endure throughout the years. Lastly, we want to also look towards the future with this edition. This edition marks the last senior edition that Britonisea will oversee. Thus, on top of the contest, we will also spend and dedicate time to find and elect the person that will be in charge of overseeing the contest after his retirement. Thus, for as much as we are celebrating what came before us, we also want to celebrate the future direction of the World Hit Festival. This specific edition is the bridge that helps fill that daunting gap.

To help fulfill this, we wish for this contest to be as big and wide-ranging as possible. We want the World Hit Festival’s golden edition to become the biggest and best that it can possibly we. Thus, we turn to you help create, build, and maintain that musical legacy.

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Additional pictures to come later

The city of Vodiznad (population: ~606,000) is Izmedu’s biggest city and also its capital. Past hosting booklets have gone on to nearly describe the city’s defining qualities in an almost exhausting length. As mentioned then, the city of Vodiznad is Izmedu’s oldest city, with some scholars arguing that it may even predate the concept of an Izmeduan nationstate. As Vodiznad is the cradle of what is currently known as Izmedu, the historical circumstances were there to help build the city into the cultural, musical, and political domestic powerhouse that it is today. Indeed, that is what one sees when they walk into the city. Many cultural artefacts and customs can be traced back to being rooted from Vodiznad or at least its larger surrounding area. It’s home to many of Izmedu’s most famed artists from the music industry, the hub for its film, fashion, and the cultural festivals and events that help defined and shaped Izmeduan culture. Though it is certainly far from Izmedu's only city, it is certainly the very emblem of not just Izmedu's shoreside and cultural roots, it is the metropolitan center that helps defines the country's legacy in many varying forms.

On top of being the cultural center for Izmedu, the city of Vodiznad is also home to many of its most famed cultural landmarks. These landmarks include places such as the Velikstav Walkway, the Agnial Marketplace, the Adviant Palace, the Ganer, El viatro teatar, the Point of Croinova, and the Rub Grada nature trail. These places are famed for being considered the 'postcard' places for the city. In the lead up to the World Hit Festival, these places will be open for festivalgoers to explore to their hearts desire. Additionally, many of these places play an integral part in showing the histories of both the city and country.

One cannot escape the city of Vodiznad without inevitably encountering the Velikstav Walkway. It was once originally built as a way for Izmedu to find a way to escape the shadow of its once brutal dictator, Tadija Damjan. With a deliberately ornate design that befit the Dalmatian architecture that permeates much of the older designs around Vodiznad, the Velikstav Walkaway represented a faint yet illusory hope for older Izmeduans. While there are certainly still traces of its original historical design, the walkway's modern history befits the cosmopolitan and musical direction that the country and the city are heading towards. The Velikstav Walkway is one of the most heavily visited areas in Vodiznad, often nearing visitor capacity during peak months and with many retail outlets, stores, and entertainment establishments vying to place branches on the walkway to take advantage of the heavy amount of visitors that often dot and populate the walkway. It is often common for the general area to be utilized as Izmeduan postcards, promo shoots, and tourism adverts.

The walkway itself is a shoreline walkway with both ends that consist of ports and marinas, providing visitors with ease of access to boats should they wish to explore the nearby sea. Provided there is space available, public performers and dancers, both representing traditional Izmeduan music (especially klapa) and more modern styles, are often present in the walkway. Additionally, the nightclubs that are present on the walkway itself also bolster its connection to music. The famed Ganer Klub is one of Izmedu's most popular nightclubs and is the center of Vodiznad's nightlife. Those who are now famed EDM producers and DJs have either performed a set at the Ganer at one point in their careers or could indeed trace the beginnings of their careers back to that very club. For the contest itself, the Velikstav Walkway will serve as the site of the very World Hit Festival Village itself; being a place where fans and delegations can party before, during, and after the contest.

Another landmark we wish to visitors to explore is El viatro teatar (translation: The Glass Theater). Though the name is a bit of a misnomer, the very architecture of the theater is built to make it look as if it were built out of glass, looking faintly quite like a mirror that reflects its surroundings. Revisions to its design have made more practical decisions and have since removed the ‘glass’ gimmick from its architecture and is now a general concert theatre. Able to seat around 2,500 people, the theater performs double duty as a museum for Izmeduan music history and also as a venue for contests such as VodiFest. The theater acts as the best option for more intimate performance spaces and contest pre-parties. For this contest, the theater will see expanded service as being the hub for domestic WHF pre-parties.

If you wish to experience Vodiznad beyond just the music, there are sites available such as the Rub Grada nature preserve and trail plus the Point of Croinova. These places are reflective of Izmedu’s strong insistence of protecting the environment and the legacy of years of legislative actions to ensure that natural landmarks remain protected. The Rub Grada trail runs around the outskirts of Vodiznad, providing an on-foot way to get to local municipalities such as Kaspari and Krigeria. Additionally, the very trail also leads to the Point of Croinova and the surrounding beaches in Vodiznad. The latter is described as being the point from which the first peoples that could be traced as Izmeduans stepped on. Though the validity of the claim is still in question, the Point of Croinova remains both a critical cultural landmark as well as a great place to relax and take pictures of the Izmeduan shoreline.

From music, history, nature, architecture, to everything that marks a city, Vodiznad hopes to help aid in preserving and bolstering the WHF legacy for editions and years to come. The city is the crossorads of the past, present, and the future. It already has deep ties to the contest itself, having hosted the contest in four occasions in the past. WHF50 will mark the fifth time the city has hosted the contest. We hope that visitors deeply enjoy their time here.

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El stadion skolkje hosting VodiOmni - Additional image - Additional image

For the first time in an Izmeduan hosting, RTI has opted to use a stadium. El Stadion Skolkje (capacity: ~44,000), known colloquially as ‘The Seashell Stadium,’ is Vodiznad’s oldest and biggest venues available for general purpose use. In fact, it was Izmedu’s first ‘big’ venue, originally commissioned by then dictator Tadija Damjan. Much of its history is marred with chronic disuse and lack of big events that necessitated a crowd as big as 40,000 people. It was not until the modern democratic republic’s establishment and the ensuing flourishment of the Izmeduan music industry that the stadium began to step out of the shadow of its original creator and began to be recognized as a viable venue on its own right. Even then, maintenance costs and the establishment of the Dragulj and La Cianta Arenas made the stadium look more obsolete. Without regular sporting events and artists favoring the more economical arenas, how did the stadium become the choice of venue for the 50th World Hit Festival?

Though the arena saw limited use after the revolutions, the very events that were housed within El Stadion Skolkje helped bolster its reputation for a generation. Its old ideals as a multi-purpose arena for the dictatorship’s behest were soon replaced as a venue for big music events that were too big for arenas such as the Dragulj and La Cianta. This stadium’s claim to hosting experience is the long-standing VodiOmni, a multi-day multi-genre festival that brings together the best of Izmeduan music across as many genres as possible. Originally conceived of as Izmedu’s premiere EDM festival, it has since gone from being a general pop music festival to one that brings together as many genres as possible. It performs double duty as Izmedu’s domestic music festival that isn’t closely connected to either the WorldVision or the World Hit Festival. It is a music contest and music festival all in one package, for artists that want to get a taste of competition without the pressure of representing Izmedu internationally. Thus, it has more than enough experience and host music related events such as the World Hit Festival.

With this history in mind, El Stadion Skolkje stands ready to host the 50th World Hit Festival. RTI has opted for a much larger arrangement in hopes to match the kind of scale offered by La liberia polja in WHF36, while utilizing the resources of a larger infrastructure surrounding the arena. Modern progressions in architecture and building standards have allowed El Stadion Skolkje to stay on par with the newer and smaller arenas built in Vodiznad. In the modern era, the stadium has gotten extensive renovations to improve the acoustics, energy efficiency, and audience comfort. One of the main features of the stadium itself is a retractable roof, allowing the festival to either be open-air or a more traditional closed interior. This retractable roof was designed to faintly evoke the image of a seashell, paying homage to Vodiznad’s identity as primarily a seaside city.

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CGI Concept

The stage in action - The stage in action 2

The Design Philosophy
For WHF50, RTI desired a stage that reflected the aesthetic of the contest logo while providing a wide enough space for both fans and performers to enjoy the contest. Stage designer Ivana Romic was hired to design the stage that RTI has on offer. The design primarily takes cues from the geometric aesthetic in the form of designing a diamond-esque stage that could be seen as a triangle depending on the stage configuration and shot perspective. The reasons for this kind of design are hinged upon RTI’s desire for a simple, elegant, and practical aesthetic for this stage. They wanted to stage to have both an openness and a function for delegations to unleash their creativity on the stage. Thus, RTI kept the stage mostly free of any other additions except for a screen that can be rigged up or down and receptacles on some parts of the stage for effects.

The Main Stage
As described above, Ivana Romic’s stage design takes the form of a loose diamond. This diamond esque shape mostly protrudes to a triangle towards the audience’s direction. This diamond shape encases the main catwalk-esque platform that the acts will primarily perform in. The size of the catwalk is large enough to fit a sizable dance troupe on the stage without sacrificing excessive mobility and space. The platform is nestled inbetween two audience pits, designed by Romic for lucky fans that especially want to see their performer up close. Surrounding those pits are the small walkways that contain the receptacles that allow the special stage effects to happen.

The main stage is also home to two LED screens. The main LED screen covers the very backwall of the stage and can be used as a door. This door can be configured any way a delegation would need for a performance. It can be left half-open, used as a way to install additional lights, or simply left in darkness. On top of that screen is an additional screen that covers the back half of the stage. This screen can be rigged up or rigged down depending on what use you may need that additional screen for. Additionally, all aspects of the stage are themselves covered in LED. This also includes all of the floor. Thus, any part of the stage can be used to display either special video effects or packages that your delegation/act feels is necessary to help augment the performance.

The Special Effects
The stage is built with a bevy of special effects that are commonplace for past RTI hostings of the WHF. On offer are pyrotechnics, aquatechnics, holograms, smoke screens, spark showers, etc. Whatever your delegation wants to do is absolutely fair game. You are also free to do post-production effects on your performance, do a bit of virtual reality, etc. Thus, the sky’s the limit for the possibilities that your delegation may well imagine for your nation’s performance.

---

TBD

---

Keeping in line with recent World Hit Festivals, Izmedu will be utilizing a two-phase voting reveal system. This approach was originally pioneered by Kalosia in the 26th World Hit Festival, which led to a thrilling conclusion in the form of an extended tie breakdown between Britonisea and Izmedu, leading to the former winning the contest. The approach has to generate an incredible amount of suspense and excitement during the voting reveal. RTI’s approach to the voting reveal will be similar to how it was done in the past, but it will take cues from the 49th World Hit Festival to the particulars of this reveal. There will be two phases to the voting.

Phase I will concern your 1-4 votes. Practically speaking, the host will reveal each nation’s 1-4 votes one by one, going through them as quickly and efficiently as possible while making sure to let enough suspense simmer in the audience. As the host will be the one in charge, your spokesperson will not be present during this phase. In Izmeduan hostings, the voting nation’s identity would often be revealed, which would lead to close observers to trace the possible outcomes in Phase II and often correctly guess what would happen. In WHF49, Estogium opted for a ‘mystery nation’ format, not revealing the identities behind the Phase I votes until after the contest was complete. RTI has opted to experiment with this mystery nation format to help bolster excitement and keep the tension until the last possible vote in Phase II.

Phase II will involve your 5 points. This is where your spokesperson will come to play and this will be the phase where we will reveal each nation’s identity. For all nations involved, this is a critical phase to watch. Due to the large points values involved in the process, dramatic changes to the scoreboard are expected to happen and are often pivotal to deciding the eventual winner of the contest. It is possible (as Llalta proved in WHF41) to nearly win the contest off the back of a stunning Phase II performance, having come from the bottom of the scoreboard in Phase I to being only a few points away from eventual winners, Kalosia. Thus, if your nation was not doing well in Phase I, you may well find yourself pleasantly surprised during Phase II.

Phase III is the tiebreaker phase invoked in the event that there is a tie for 1st place. For this, the normal tiebreaking procedure will be used. Which is as follows…

• 1st tiebreaker: The nation who received the greatest number of votes from individual nations wins. For example, if Donutland received 7 votes and Laugingstan received 6 votes, Donutland wins this tie.
• 2nd tiebreaker: If both nations are found to receive the same number of votes from individual nations, we use the number of 5 points they receive to break the tie. This time, both Donutland and Laugingstan received 7 sets of votes. Donutland received only 1 set of 5 points, but Laugingstan received 2 sets of 5 during Phase II. Laugingstan wins.
• 3rd tiebreaker: If the amount of 5 points remains the same, then we go down to 4. Donutland received 2 sets of 4, Laugingstan none. Donutland wins.
• 4th tiebreaker: Same procedure, but with 3 points. Donutland received 1 set of 3, but Laugingstan got 2 sets of 3. Laugingstan wins.
• 5th tiebreaker: Same procedure, but with 2 points. Donutland received 2 sets of 2, but Lauginstan got only 1 set of 2. Donutland wins.
• 6th tiebreaker: Same procedure, but with 1 point. Donutland sobs from its googly eyes and receives no sets of 1, but Laugingstan laugs all the way to the bank with 1 set of 1, and Laugingstan wins.
• 7th tiebreaker: If Donutland and Laugingstan have the exact same points breakdown, the nation that voted first will be the winner of the World Hit Festival. In this case, Donutland sent their votes earlier, and thus they win the final tiebreaker.

---

We want this to be the biggest World Hit Festival in the history of the contest. If this were the case, a record number of participants will trigger semi-finals for the third time in the contest’s history. The last time semi-finals were held was in WHF40. At the minimum (as per rule 8), we need enough participants to have at least 14 nations per semi-final. As the host qualifies to the grand final, this means we will need at least 29 nations minimum to trigger the semi-final stages. In the event that we have 35 or more complete entries, that will then initiate the previous edition’s top 5 (Izmedu, Britonisea, Llalta, Fromulya, Achaean Republic) all automatically qualifying for the grand final, with 30 nations vying to qualify.

As semi-finals are tentative and have only happened twice in the contest’s history, all specific details of the semi-final procedure will be finalized at a later date should semi-finals look like a possibility. If they do appear likely, I will convene with Britonisea to hammer out the details of what they specifically will look like, which will involve a change in the results reveal section. In the meantime, watch the space.

WHF40 acts as the precedent that I will utilize should semi-finals happen. The format of WHF40 was as follows. 30 nations participated in the contest, triggering semi-finals for the first time since WHF3. I utilized the two semi-final system from the Eurovision Song Contest and the host also qualified to the grand final. Thus, we were left with 29 nations vying for qualification. One semi-final contained 15 nations, another semi-final contained 14 nations. 7 nations would qualify from each semi-final, creating a grand final of 15 nations.

All three shows were contained within the IC thread, with each show constituting their own page and the initial OP being used as a large directory for readers to navigate for easier convenience versus needing 3 separate IC threads. During the contest proper, voting and slight entry edits were made available to grand finalists that wanted to either change their entry slightly or send me an updated ranking in light of the new finalists. Once the semi-final stage was done, the contest proceeded as any other WHF would with a lone grand final.

Though this is precedent, do not take this to mean that this will be completely replicated for the 50th World Hit Festival should semi-finals happen. The re-appearance of semis in WHF40 was not something I sketched out detailed plans for. Thus, aspects that were not executed cleanly in that WHF will of course be refined, modified, or not done entirely depending on how consultation with Britonisea goes. Since this is the 50th edition, our aim is to get as many people participating as possible to make this WHF an unforgettable edition that will make history.

These hosting details are not quite yet complete. A few more sections will be added in the lead up to the draft thread.

[Indo States]

Nation: Fatiman Federation (Indo States)
Broadcaster: Radio Television Fatimania (RTVF)

Song Title: Cherish Life
Artist: Angelica Magsaysay
Language(s):
Title Transcription (if required):
Title Translation (if required):
Tune: Sonia Evans - Listen to your heart
___
Host Requirement
Your Trigramme: FET
___


Head of Delegation (if not already provided):

[Darkmania]

Nation:Darkmania
Broadcaster:DaTV

Song Title: Lÿn
Artist: KANDYSE
Language(s): Darkmanian
Title Transcription (if required):
Title Translation (if required): (Lion)
Tune: Raylee - Wild
___
Host Requirement
Your Trigramme:DMN
___


Head of Delegation (if not already provided):

---

Nation:Vartugia
Broadcaster:WTF

Song Title: Let Däryana represent Izmedu (Yes. I will)
Artist: The Izmeduan Liberation Choir For The Movement For Däryana To Represent Her Native Izmedu
Language(s): English, i hope.
Title Transcription (if required):
Title Translation (if required):
Tune: Put - Dont Ever Cry
___
Host Requirement
Your Trigramme: VAR
___


Head of Delegation (if not already provided):

[Darkmania]

Also....

< < < < < < < < < < I WISH TO BECOME THE WHF OVERSEER > > > > > > > > > >

Nation name:Darkmania
Debuting edition (as user): WHF25
Total number of participations (as user): 13 as Darkmania, 7 (i belive) for TIDS Hiklarmangia and i havent counted how many i have under Vartugia. But i predict something like over 20+ entries for all three accounts

Leadership/hosting experience:

On the NS Side: Host of WHF39. Host of WSC67. Served three terms at the WSC Committee.
On RL: I have been part of the leadership team for the local youth that is gonna confirmate at my local church since 2014.

Why I should be elected:

To anyone who are reading this.

My name is Darkmania. I am a veteran when it comes to World Hit Festival, having made my first entry in WHF25. Since then i have made around over 20+ entries spanning one serious account (where my sole victory was achieved), a province puppet of Darkmania (#Slavie <3) and Vartugia. So I have some experience writing entries, even if it's serious or a joke-entry.

This is the secound time i am running for the Overseer for the WHF. (Fun fact: I was invited by the then Overseer Izmedu to run for the Overseer-election that ultimately gave us Britonisea. I declined because I wanted to keep running my joke-candidate TIDS Hiklarmangia, who came last. This time its serious). I want to make a #newstart for the WHF as we are gonna get a new overseer.

I have downloaded the Discord Application to both my laptop as well as my mobile phone so i am online (almost) all the time ready in case there are need for me.

I am running on a platform for...
[list=*]
[*]Allowing the future host to announce that they will host publicly.
[*]Setting the requirement for semis to 29, with three semifinal options to be used by the host (The current Eurovision Two-Semi system, the Classic 2004-2007 Eurovision One-Semi System or the Melodifestivalen Four-Semi system (but without the Andra Chansen).
[*]Bidding for being the host of WHF, but only if the top 5 all reject/There is interest in bidding instead of letting the winner host the next WHF like it is in Eurovision.
[*]Tiebreakers are as follow; Number of sets of 5 points -> Number of sets of 4 points -> Number of sets of 3 points -> Number of sets of 2 points -> Number of sets of 1 points -> Number unique countries voting for -> Earliest Edit on the Draft Thread.
[*]Writing a factbook on how to write a song for debutants of WHF.
[/list]

I hope i end up winning and i will make WHF great for all of us. I love you all -Dark <3

[Talvezout]

Nation: Talvezout
Broadcaster: TRT

Song Title: "Gotta See It Through"
Artist: Agnoeítai
Language(s): English, Spanish
Title Transcription (if required): N/A
Title Translation (if required): N/A
Tune: "Paper Planes" by M.I.A.
___
Host Requirement N/A
Your Trigramme: TVT
___


Head of Delegation (if not already provided): Marija Starr

---

Nation: Nahlcomo
Broadcaster: PRTOFCN

Song Title: "No"
Artist: Massey Massie
Language(s): English
Title Transcription (if required): N/A
Title Translation (if required): N/A
Tune: "Volcano" by Swans
___
Host Requirement N/A
Your Trigramme: NHO
___


Head of Delegation (if not already provided): Nora Stockdt

[Britonisea]

The Overseer's Curiosity

Questions for Darkmania

- If you give people a chance to have three options when deciding what happens if we break the 29-nation boundary (which is the rule there is now), how would you give people the chance to vote for their favourite way to knock entries out? Would you hold a week of voting for people to decide what way the prefer?
- Similarly, with the Top 5 not accepting the hosting of the next edition, wouldn't it be counter intuitive to have a bidding process on top of 5 nations declining to host? Since that process would delay the Festival by however weeks the bidding process happens for. What happens if no one bids?
- What's your reasoning for wanting to change the tiebreak system? I mean it's based on Eurovision. I don't see why a nation who received 5s from four nations should be placed above a nation who received the same amount of points by was in the Top 10 of say eight or more nations?

Thanks!

[Izmedu]

Confirming my entry! I encourage anyone and everyone who is interested in the World Hit Festival to sign-up and participate. Whether you are new, a veteran, occasional participant, or anywhere in between, I echo Brit in saying that we want this to be the biggest World Hit Festival.

I also encourage those who are interested to submit an application to be the new overseer. As a former WHF overseer and Brit's predecessor, it was immensely fun being able to coordinate and manage the contest and really be able to see what goes on behind the scenes. To be part of the WHF's growth into what it is today is an immense honor and it was invigorating being able to steer one of the contests that got me deeply engaged in NS in the first place. You have the chance to take this contest to a new era and continue its rich history.

---

Nation: Izmedu
Broadcaster: RTI

Song Title: Battle Cry
Artist: Poslie Postojanje
Language(s): English
Title Transcription (if required):
Title Translation (if required):
Tune: Florence + the Machine - Breath of Life
___
Host Requirement
Your Trigramme: IZM
___


Head of Delegation (if not already provided): HoD already provided

---

I'll try to have hosting details up as soon as I can. I'm juggling grad school atm but I've been writing behind-the-scenes during the planning period. I still need to sort out what the stage will look like as well as create the postcard and scoreboard concepts. Rest assured that these are in development.

Let's make this festival an unforgettable one. Looking forward to seeing everyone's entries

[Darkmania]

- If you give people a chance to have three options when deciding what happens if we break the 29-nation boundary (which is the rule there is now), how would you give people the chance to vote for their favourite way to knock entries out? Would you hold a week of voting for people to decide what way they prefer?

Like what I said, it depends on the host on which semi-system they like to host if he/she breaks the 29-nation boundary. If he/she wants to hold a vote on which semi-system he/she are gonna use for the semis, then he/she are allowed to either hold a vote on which of the three semis the host are gonna choose or he/she chooses it by himself/herself.

- Similarly, with the Top 5 not accepting the hosting of the next edition, wouldn't it be counter-intuitive to have a bidding process on top of 5 nations declining to host? Since that process would delay the Festival by however weeks the bidding process happens for. What happens if no one bids?

I doubt that the Top 5 all decline the offer to host. This are just used as a failsafe. If there is no one who is interested in biding, the Overseer will then host after two weeks.

- What's your reasoning for wanting to change the tiebreak system? I mean it's based on Eurovision. I don't see why a nation who received 5s from four nations should be placed above a nation who received the same amount of points by was in the Top 10 of say eight or more nations?

Streamlining. I doubt that the tiebreaking goes all the way to the last end of the tiebreaking.

[Britonisea]

For the last question, I still don't understand your reasoning - what do you mean by streamlining? Almost every edition, there's a tiebreak btw. Changes to the tiebreak system has quite the effect.

-- Also things aren't really about assuming and doubting. The failsafe we already have (the Overseer hosting after 5) I thought was fine enough...

[Estogium]

We sign up. Tbc by brito

[Nightom]

We sign up. Tbc by brito

[Britonisea]

Nightom and esto confirmed .

I'll sign up too.

[Vdara]

we’re back
we’re no black
and we’re gonnae smack

means I’m signing up lads

[Malta Comino Gozo]

Malta Comino Gozo will debut

Nation: Malta Comino Gozo
Broadcaster: MCG1

Song Title: TBA
Artist: TBA
Language(s): English
Title Transcription (if required): N/A
Title Translation (if required): N/A
Tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl4zAKgOE_A The Veronicas In my Blood
___
Host Requirement N/A
Your Trigramme: MCG

[Wazekia]

Wazekia signs up.

[Free Republics]

Nation: Free Republics
Broadcaster: WOLF News Channel

Song Title: Ye Nichollites by Name
Artist: Bruno Milani
Language(s): English
Title Transcription (if required): N/A
Title Translation (if required): N/A
Tune: Ye Jacobites by Name
___
Host Requirement
Your Trigramme: FFR
___


Head of Delegation (if not already provided): Sister Maria Polus

[Achaean Republic]

Nation: Achaean Republic
Broadcaster: AS1

Song Title: Sinceramente
Artist: Por Ciento
Language(s): Spanish
Title Transcription (if required): N/A
Title Translation (if required): Sincerely
Tune: Monsieur Periné-Bailar Contigo
___
Host Requirement
Your Trigramme: ACH
___


Head of Delegation (if not already provided): Ernesto Vázquez

[Electrum]

Electrum and EDO in.

[Besmenien]

Nation: Federal Republic of Besmenien
Broadcaster: BRF 1

Song Title: Hier kommt Tom
Artist: Die Befanters
Language(s): German
Title Transcription (if required):
Title Translation (if required): Here comes Tom
Tune: https://youtu.be/hTWKbfoikeg
___
Host Requirement
Your Trigramme: BES
___


Head of Delegation (if not already provided):

[Llalta]

*signs up*

[Nahlcomo]

Nation: Nahlcomo
Broadcaster: PRTOFCN

Song Title: "No"
Artist: Massey Massie
Language(s): English
Title Transcription (if required): N/A
Title Translation (if required): N/A
Tune: "Volcano" by Swans
___
Host Requirement N/A
Your Trigramme: NHO
___


Head of Delegation (if not already provided): Nora Stockdt

[Darkmania]

For the last question, I still don't understand your reasoning - what do you mean by streamlining? Almost every edition, there's a tiebreak btw. Changes to the tiebreak system has quite the effect.

My reasoning is simply to make it fairer because of arding to me, its a bit unfair for someone who ends up winning a tie just because of someone else performs earlier.

[Polkopia]

Nation: Polkopia
Broadcaster: PNB

Song Title: Better Love
Artist: Vanessa Anisimova
Language(s): English
Title Transcription (if required):
Title Translation (if required):
Tune: Tori Kelly - Nobody Love
___
Host Requirement
Your Trigramme: PLK
___


Head of Delegation (if not already provided): Vadim Dostovskiy