Polasciana is now just seven days away from welcoming the whole of Gallia to it’s shores as 35,000 avid music fans will make their way to the nation’s capital for Gala 2009 – the continent’s pre-cursor to World Celebration.
PTV, the host broadcaster for the event has promised the ‘best edition yet’ to every delegation entering the competition. Over 5,000 hotel rooms have been made vacant for World Media Commission and competition staff who will also be making their way to the Sevruk arena from Monday.
Adnan Rebikov, the Executive Director for the 2009 festival, has stated that Karasicena is now ready to receive both delegations and spectators, as over 10 tonnes of staging equipment is in the final stages of construction. Over 100 engineers have been working for nearly a week in the arena, installing both audio and visual equipment ready for the live broadcast. But the venue has been shut for almost two months, undergoing significant refurbishment, particularly to the roof structure to make sure it would cope with the strain of the equipment. Most of the cost was met by private businesses, but PTV has to cover the extra costs of the holding the contest in Karasicena, but does recieve a grant from the WMC, gathered from the entry fee for competitor broadcasters, currently standing at around ₲40,000.
The Sevruk Arena is one of the largest venues to ever play host for the event, but both PTV and the WMC have reaffirmed their position that it will not detract from the performances on stage, as all aspects of the show have been kept in proportion. A large backstage area, complete with green room for the competitors has also been constructed behind the stage, of which accounts for nearly a quarter of the competition budget.
Over ₭30 million will be spent in total on Gala in Karasicena, by far the largest budget ever. Show directors are confident of one of the best editions ever, with some of the most advanced television and broadcasting equipment ever used, along with nearly a third of all the lighting and visual equipment in Gallia being used for this one event and some of the largest and most powerful indoor sound equipment. The venue has also undergone changes to its seating layout, to make sure that every seat has an unobstructed view of the stage. Over 50 large screens are being set up to give a view of the live television broadcast and PTV has also announced that three large outdoor screens will be present, which are expected to draw additional crowds.
Around 25,000 tickets have been sold in advance, with most going to Polascianans, although select fans from across the continent managed to get tickets to support their national entry. The contest gets underway next Saturday night at 8.45 local time and will be broadcast on most national networks across Gallia.
World Celebration will be held early next year in Tamur, Saria.
