OOC Thread | Original Bid
Everything was deadly silent in the Mahiraz Arena as the opening credits played, ushering in this edition's contest, to be held in the very heart of the city of Hajenired. However, there was no need to fear the beeping of car horns in traffic, people shouting amongst each other and the general noises that cities make; it helped that the stadium was utterly soundproofed, not that it mattered because everyone who could have made any noise was too busy being glued to their television screens watching the contest that had come to Norjihan during what was only their third participation. Inside the Mahiraz Arena, fans from around the Multiverse were choking on the thick air of anticipation (and perhaps a little sweat) as they waited for the stage to come alive with the opening act (and indeed all of the acts to follow). As the opening ident ended, the camera view changed to show the Mahiraz Arena itself...
Bold: Nerana
Italics: Backing Singers
The stadium was pitch black as the song began, except for one purple spotlight on the left hand pedestal on the stage, surrounded in a sea of smoke that wisped and curled around it. The pedestal itself had been, for the purposes of this, been made to look like the top of a mountain, a 'stone' cap placed on top of it on which a musician playing the Norjihani Farensa (basically a Duduk) wearing traditional clothing. As he played, he looked up and to the centre of the stage, where a second spotlight illuminate a man walking down the central walkway on the stage, from the front towards the back, carrying a torch. He lit an open hearth (think like the Olympic Flame) and illuminated Nerana, in a large red dress, as she began singing. She reached out to the camera that is rather zoomed out, but slowly began to move towards her. As she carrids on and the drum beat began, an array of purple lights from the 'sunburst' array above the stage shone onto the stage, and quite predictably there was a drummer who seemingly couldn't find the top half of his costume, not that any of the audience were complaining.
Grow my little flower
Find your destiny
You can if you believe
And become anything
Two sets of backing dancers, wearing costumes like this, appeared on either side of Nerana, coming out from the shadows behind her. The dancers closest to her held onto her dress as they sang, each looking a different way, standing perfectly still. Floral designs, like those shown on the example picture of the stage (in the post below), began to slowly creep up the background LED screens, with a mixture of purple and blue, and colour slowly began to fill the 'flower' behind Nerana and the dancers.
Just grow, just grow
Just grow, just grow
Just grow, just grow
(Just grow) Just grow, just grow
Just grow, just grow
Just grow, just grow
Just grow, just grow
As the disco beat kicked in, the stadium exploded into a sea of colour, the floral LEDs fully coming into their own, the main stadium lights (a rich purple, interspersed with blue from the 'sunburst'), and the backing dancers ripping Nerana's long red dress off to reveal a short, gold dress with tassley end bits. She was lifted by the dancers over the fire, and landing back down onto the central catwalk which now showed the flags of all the competing nations, and broke into a dance routine which I'm sure you can imagine and I needn't really describe
Feel the light, my flower
As Nerana sang the first verse the camera's attention was shifted to the lower area to the left hand side of the central walkway, where the duduk player was now surrounded by a group on men doing a circle dance around him as he himself jumped around and played; however, as he plaeds, one by one they began to rip off their traditional clothing to reveal modern clothes underneath them, showing how Norjihan is welcoming and embracing the modern world, whilst still holding on to its past. The duduk player jumped off the pedestal (doing a backflip as he went), but held onto his duduk, joining the group in a more contemporary dance.
You know (You know)
You know you can achieve
Be who you want to be
Grow flower, grow flower
Be bold and sieze the day
Shine bright where there is grey
Grow flower, grow flower
The main camera feed now showed the right hand side of the stage, in which a tree had been placed on the pedestal, with flags of nations from Todlichebujoku to Polkopia haniging from it's branches, whilst a group of actors pretended to farm, ploughing a field (aided by the LED floor underneath them which showed the soil beneath their feet, with both their footprints and the furrows being shown). Even though they were 'working hard', they still did it in a jovial manner, almost breaking into dance at one point, before one of the farmers picked an apple from the tree and bit into it as Nerana sang 'want to be', the camera rapidly zooming in and then switching to show the central walkway once more.
Just grow, just grow (Just grow, just grow)
Just be yourself (Just be yourself)
And never stop (And never stop)
Yeaaaah
The future is yours
So stand up for your cause
Grow into who you want to be
The camera view began looking down at the walkway, showing the images of both Norjihan and the rest of the world that were rapidly appearing beneath it. It travelled along over the top and began facing up until it reached the centre of the 'flower', where Nerana stood with two of her backing dancers, who were all performing a routine together whilst the rest of her backing singers were stood around the fire, slowly moving around it.
Just grow, just grow, just grow, just grow
Just grow, just grow, just grow, just grow
You can be anything
This is just the beginning
Of this great adventure
That we call living life
Nerana left the two backing dancers in the flower and walked out into the rest of the stage, strutting along as she did so, and was quickly joined by the dancers around the fire, whilst the cameras gave panoramic shots of both the stage and the audience who were cheering and dancing along.
Be bold and sieze the day
Shine bright where there is grey
Never give up the fight
The lights dimmed and the camera zoomed in on Nerana who sang directly into the camera, once again reaching out. She was stood at an angle so that the floral pattern on the LED screen behind her showed a loveheart (sickly, I know).
You know you can achieve
Be who you want to be
Grow flower, grow flower
Be bold and sieze the day
Shine bright where there is grey
Grow flower, grow flower
The cameras changed to show first the left hand side of the central walkway and then the right. The left hand side had been cleared of the rock and the dancers and instead showed a scene from Norjihani history, the crowning of Mahiraz I who had saved the Norjihani's at the Battle of the Rone. However, the king's cape showed all of the countries that were competing at the contest, and as the crown is placed on his head the LED floor beneath explodes into life, floral patternations spreading rapidly across the stage floor. The other actors, who had been standing in vogue like positions around the pedestal, came to life and began dancing around him as the camera begins to move across to show the right hand side. On the right hand side was the Prime Minister of Norjihan himself, Uram Utenid (he was greated to thunderous support in the stadium, having recently been elected and being the most popular leading in the nation's history), who unravelled a sign saying 'Adyn Usan WorldVisionym' (Welcome to WorldVision'), whilst around him ordinary citizens unravelled their own signs, saying 'Welcome to WorldVision' in the different languages of all of the nations competing.
Just grow, just grow (Just grow, just grow)
Just be yourself (Just be yourself)
And never stop (And never stop)
Yeaaaah
The future is yours
So stand up for your cause
Grow into who you want to be
The camera feed at home suddenly moved across, over the fire to show the drummers once again (I imagine to much applause around the multiverse), before it shifted to show Nerana as she sang, and then broke once more into a dance routine that you can quite easily imagine (try to think of a mixture between Qele Qele and Shady Lady. The cameras showed panoramic shots of the stage whilst one by one the stage was lit in the colours of each of the competing nations, and the LED floor showed the flag and name of said country.
Just grow...
Grow...
Just grow, just grow, just grow, just grow
Just grow, just grow, just grow, just grow
Just grow, just grow
Just be yourself
And never stop
Just grow, just grow
Just be yourself
And never stop
The crowd cheered loudly, waving flags around and generally making the sort of commotion you might expect, and Nerana and the members of the National Theatre of Norjihan waved, bowed and vacated the stage. As this happened, an instrumental version of the official theme (Grow, as performed above) played, and Geryn Unared, Norjihani TV personality and host of the night's contest, walked onto the stage in a dress somewhat similar to this. She arrives at a pedestal on the stage placed whilst the cameras were busy giving panoramic shots of the audience cheering and welcoming the contest. The main camer feed turned to her and settled as the background screen showed a montage of scenes from across all of the nations of the multiverse, a representation of the cultural festival about to take place. She began to speak...
Adyn Usan, Bienvenue and Welcome to the 60th WorldVision Song Contest!
(The crowd burst into cheers and flag waving, and Geryn jokingly gestured using her arms to quiet them down, and laughed before she begins speaking again)
Yes, I know it's exciting, but we have an actual show to give you as well, not just myself. Anyway, welcome to Hajenired, capital and cultural centre of the Most Serene Republic of Norjihan, your humble hosts for this years contest. X nations will compete tonight here, in the Mahiraz Arena, to win whatever it is we give them... I hear this year it is a trophy of some description.
Through the medium of song, tonight's competing nations will showcase their culture, and we will all develop a greater understanding of the world around us. It is in this vein that we ask you to grow with us; to learn, accept and grow as a person, seeing the multiverse in a new way. And yes, that's the cheesy bit done with.
(She threw the card away, and the crowd cheered a little, waiting for her to get the show started)
Now, I know why you're here, to listen to some songs and then give us all your money to vote for them. And so, I guess we should get the show started. But before then, how will you give us your money... I mean vote? Well, after all the acts have performed, if your country has a televote you will phone the number that will hopefully have appeared on your screen right about now, followed by the number of the position the country performed in. Don't try to vote for your own country, nothing good comes out of it; I've tried it.
Now that's out of the way, are you ready Multiverse?
(A large collective shout of Yes! filled the Arena, and most likely the entire Multiverse)
Then let the 60th WorldVision Song Contest begin!!!
(The crowd cheered ridiculously loudly once more as the instrumental version of Grow began playing, accompanied by a small round of fireworks and pyro, before the first postcard began. The contest had begun...)
