 | UNITED VOICES at the United Nations: Unrecognized countries speak in unity, arguing for peace and a democratic solution to their wish for freedom. [more] |  | | |  | A LIFE ON ITS OWN is what PMR has been living for 18+ years. Can the clock be turned back now, or is it best to just move forward? [more] |
| ||||||
Not quite American Idol: "Transnistrian Idol"
In a country that its neighbors say doesn't exist, an American Idol style talent competition is underway. Pridnestrovie - better known as Transnistria - has existed since 1990. It has twice as many people as Iceland, but is not recognized internationally.
The unrecognized country of Pridnestrovie shows that it has homegrown talent. Now it follows in the footsteps of American IdolRYBNITSA (Tiraspol Times) - It is not American Idol, but then again, tiny Pridnestrovie isn't the USA either.
In a country which can not be found on any world maps, a nationwide talent competition is underway. Officially called "The Children's Theater", the singing contest is referred to as "Transnistrian Idol", after the name Transnistria which Pridnestrovie is also known under abroad.
Initial elimination stages took place in the northern cities of Rybnitsa and Kamenka on Monday, before moving the judges to Bender - Pridnestrovie's second largest city - on Tuesday, 15 May. The Idol-like event has the nation's largest private bank as its sponsor, Gazprombank, the financial services arm of energy giant Gazprom.
On Thursday, eliminations will take place in Tiraspol, the capital of Pridnestrovie, before moving on to Slobodzya, Grigoriopol and Dubossary next week. There's no Paula or Simon to judge, but Marina Smirnova - CEO of Gazprombank - will be on hand to evaluate the hopefuls alongside a team of local judges drawn from PMR TV and a local radio station.
- Thousands of participants nationwide
As reported by PMR's state news agency Olvia Press, thousands of participants will try out for the competition during the elimination stages, throughout the length of the unrecognized 17 year old country. The participants are between the ages of 7 to 17, which means that they were all born after PMR declared independence and none of them remember ever having lived in another country.
" - Organizers are assured that the competitions will help find the gifted children and increase the artistic level of the creative associations and will assist to the development of amateur theater in Pridnestrovie," reported Olvia Press on Tuesday. For the top finalists, the event is seen as a springboard to becoming an recognized, professional star: "Possibly, for some of the participants in the competitions, this will become the beginning of serious creative activity," says Olvia Press.
Ex-Communist Pridnestrovie declared independence in 1990 during the breakup of the Soviet Union. Its independence has not been recognized internationally.
Pridnestrovie, with a population of 555,000 inhabitants, is nearly twice the size of Iceland (296,000 people) and Belize (283,000). It also has more people than Luxembourg and a dozen other UN member states.
In terms of land, Pridnestrovie controls a territory of 4,163 square km with an international border of over 800 km. Pridnestrovie is six times larger than Singapore or Bahrain, and nearly twice the size of Luxembourg. More than a dozen UN member countries are smaller in size than Pridnestrovie.
While Transnistrian Idol is just getting started, back in the States the original American Idol is now coming down to the wire: Jordin Sparks, Melinda Doolittle, and Blake Lewis are in the finals for who will be this year's American Idol.
On the web:
» More about Pridnestrovie
| more about leisure | |||||
| |||||
