AleziRadio Festival of Songs 2002
| AleziRadio Festival of Songs 2002 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dates | |
| Final | 16th of May 2002 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Lenteloup GrandTheater, Bucinnois, PI, ZF |
| Presenter(s) | Millie Na'ukase'i Dadon |
| Musical director | Ida Longourie Salem |
| Directed by | Eshlainn Rouwendal |
| Executive supervisor | Ishaq Nurqifli |
| Executive producer | Selena Ka'ura'ni Makarina |
| Host broadcaster | Radio Zafizamarrah / Pa'ana'taba'angi |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 18 |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Each region sends five-member juries where each votes 1,3,5,7, and 10 for the best 5 songs, added with online vote using Propotional Vote. |
AleziRadio Festival of Songs 2002 is the fourty-fifth edition of the annual AleziRadio Festival of Songs. The competition was held as usual in 16th of May 2002 by the authorities of Radio Zafizamarrah / Pa'ana'taba'angi (RZ-PI). This is first time that the Pantabang Islands hosted the competition after the victory of Ozhlana with the song "Mijn hart is gemaakt van diamanten". The Pantabang Islands is also the second territory of North Alezia to host the festival.
As it's head broadcaster, Radio Zafizamarrah gave RZ-PI the right to pick the host for themselves, giving them the chance of either picking the host through a bidding process or immediate selection. After thorough studies and acknowledgement of announcements of refusal to host by various cities, RZ-PI immediately picked the territory's capital, Bucinnois, to hold the festival.
Bucinnois is located on the northern coast of the entire Pantabang Islands. It is one of a few prime spots for fisheries and petroleum industries. In Petroleum segment alone, Bucinnois produces 15% of North Alezia's export quality refined petroleum products. The town (according to the 2000 census) has a population of 882,388 around the time of the festival. The town itself doesn't belong to any specific big tribes of the Pantabang Islands (Dadon, Salem, Makarina, Ancic), becoming a conurbation of all tribes with each tribe not holding a big majority. Bucinnois' population mostly speak French and Alezian (with English and a minority of Arabic and Dutch). This language influence was influenced from the colonization of the islands by the French when the Alezian Divide of the 19th Century happened. The French also influenced many of the islands' infrastructure. While the South Alezian part of the islands lost its' French culture, the Northern side fully embraced their French culture.
For the festival itself, the festival is hosted in the Lenteloup GrandTheater, five kilometers away from the gate of the city's port. The theater is the oldest in Pantabang Islands, yet it has been refurbished and expanded three times in its past, being able to seat 15,000 people on time for the festival.
Ozhlana who won the festival last year for her home ground represented the Pantabang Islands again for the second time. Initially, Ozhlana was contacted to be asked to host the festival just like the Harrisons last year or with Mika'il in 1996. However, Ozhlana refused the gig and instead took part and won the Pantabang Islander preselection for the 2002 AleziRadio Festival of Songs.
Incidents
Ability to Host
After Ozhlana won the festival, doubts were raised about the territory's ability to host the festival. Even though the Pantabang Islands were rich in natural resources, it remains one of the poorest areas in North Alezia, especially being so separated from the Alezian mainland. Governor of Pantabang Islands at the time, Zoulaiman A'ina'we'i Dadon reassured the press that everything would be held normally without challenges that might hinder the territory's hosting of the festival. The governor's words were backed by the authorities from other territories of North Alezia (Mosin-Nagan and Daya Island) and from it's head region, Zafizamarrah, with the latter promising to back their territory the best they can.
Even though the territory was optimistic, they still asked Zafizamarrah to host in their place should the Pantabang Islands failed to host on time. And thus, a backup scenario was made where Zafizamarrah would host the festival in the New Independence Hall in the Metropolitan City, with them reusing the stage from the 2000 festival with minor changes. Fortunately, the event stayed in Pantabang Islands without any notable issues and was deemed as a successful event.
South Alezian Threat
Other than hosting ability, safety was deemed as a critical issue. at that time, North and South Alezia's diplomatic relations could be considered "cold" with close calls of war between the two. It was hypotesized that should a war happen between the two, the South Alezians would use the Pantabang Islands (especially Bucinnois) as a jumpstart into North Alezia. This makes the Pantabang Islands as the most fortified and militarized area in North Alezia.
For the festival, an unusual increase in security was installed to protect spectators and participants with their staffs in order to prevent incidents. The North Alezian Premier Dariq Authoriq contacted the King of South Alezia General Hoojvinken asking for assurance from South Alezia not to do anything dangerous on festival night else they would face consequences. The General (in an unusual manner) guaranteed the safety of the festival, for amnesty on 10% of their debts to North Alezia. The King also demanded that North Alezia allows the festival to be broadcasted into South Alezia. ABA Director of Programming Muhammad Lismazauri responded by saying, "South Alezia is always welcome to broadcast the festival any time they want anyways".