Wow!!! Who is going to be our first Maldivian Idol?

Maldivian idol is the first franchised television show in the Maldives, judged by a panel consisting of well experienced musicians of the country; Mariyam Unoosha, Ibrahim Ali and Ahmed Ibrahim. With Fremantle Media’stechnical consultancy, technical personnel were trained abroad for the show. Maldivian Idol will be marketed through all the mediums of Public Service Media, which includes; TV, Radio, Online and Print Media.Maldivian Idol will be held in association with the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation and the National Centre for the Arts. 

Maldivian Idol is part of the global “Idol” franchise, and marks the biggest singing competition series to be aired in the Maldives. With 600 participants, Maldives’ own version of the “Pop Idol” format is ready to premiere on January 22nd. The contestants will be narrowed down to 12 finalists who will battle it down in the competition. With weekly eliminations, only three finalists will be able to compete for the ultimate title; the Maldivian Idol. 

After each song that was sung by the contestants, the judges critique that contestants’ chosen song. From the third round onwards, the audience of the show holds the power to determine fifty percent of the result, and Maldives must vote for the contestant to whom they think really shined. Text message and online voting begins immediately after each performance show, and the results are announced during the following night’s broadcast.

With local telecom giant Dhiraagu as the title sponsor, the final show with the top three contestants, is scheduled to be held on 30^th April 2016 . The core associates of the show are, Lotus, Dabur, Allied Insurance and Maldivian. Beverage partner is XL Energy drink. Public Service Media has allocated a cash prize of MVR 250,000 to the winner.

Produced by Public Service Media (PSM), the show is categorised into four rounds and already indicates a new level of creativity, said TVM’s crew and senior officials.

“It’s hard for us to believe, too. This is such a quality show,” said PSM director of e-commerce and marketing, Ibrahim Nasreen.

“It will be very interesting for viewers; this such a unique show.”

Maldivian Idol’s producers asserted that the show is not merely for singing and recreation, but will also depict various challenges across the Maldives and the effects of values good and bad. Hence, the show will bring a range of community issues to public attention.

“Every participant is their own character. Each one of them brings a story to tell the viewers,” said Nasreen.

“Good values and bad values; much of these issues will be seen in the show.”

Maldivian Idol rounds

• Open Audition: to seek and recruit contestants from capital Male and other regions
• Theatre Round: challenge for chosen contestants from various regions
• Piano Round: challenge for Top 16 contestants from Theatre Round
• Top Twelve: contests for the main show

Public voting will open from the Top 16 contestants in the Piano Round onwards.

Manage Differences

The ability to manage differences among people and knowing how to manage these differences amicably is an important behavioral skill that is very essential for building harmonious relationships. It is often difficult for people to obtain this skill.

Interestingly, a large majority in the community believe they can work out differences with people without using abusive language or violence. Many feel that they don't have problem in dealing with differences. However most consider that in general they have difficult relating to people whose views are different from theirs. 

Youth with strong family life

Strong family ties helps to create an environment of trust and togetherness at home. A loving and caring family where young people feel free to discuss their issues that affect them and have parents and family, who are willing and eager  to listen to their problems encourages trust and understanding. Strong family bonds can increase the self confidence that the young people have.

Young people need feel inclusive and a part of their community, in order to actively participate in and contribute to family, social and community development. They should feel that they are part of the  community by respecting their feeling and opinion.In order for young people to become responsible members of the family it is important that they are able to build relationships and interact meaningfully with everyone. Families should help young people actively participate in the family, social, community and even economic development.

Sports Tourism

The Maldives is well placed for the development of sports of tourism, especially the growth of sea sports or through hosting special events. It is accepted that this will not happen by itself, but will need to be planned, possibly over reasonably long time frames. Apart from providing employment opportunities and raising foreign exchange, some special events will serve to promote interest in featured sports.

Sports tourism does not have to be devoted to high level international competition or major events. Major tournaments will generate excitement and bring opportunities for television coverage and therefore sponsorship and rights opportunities. But junior tournaments, which will bring families as well as players, and master’s tournaments, which will bring more wealthy international visitors, can be very lucrative and generally require simpler and less expensive organization.

Tourism Related

Currently there are over 235 tourist establishments in the Maldives, including 91 resorts, 11 hotels and over 120 safari vessels. Most of the tourist establishments are state-of the-art providing the perfect venue for your sports conference or meeting. Your conference venues could be the lush and luxurious open sandy beaches and open water spaces of any of the above establishments which are already created for such purposes. 

 In an uncertain world the Maldives provides a peaceful and tranquil environment for your event. On our shores, indulge in the peaceful transition from a day of intellectual sporting interactions to the soft agenda to explore the breathtaking ambiance of the underwater beauty or lazily cast for a variety of fish while enjoying one of our spectacular sunsets.

According to the recent researches, tourism contributes directly 33% of GDP. Indirectly, with its spill-over effect, it could be much higher.

Sports history of Maldives

International sports began about a century ago in the Maldives. According to historical sources cricket was the first international sport played in the Maldives followed closely by football. Organized sport began in the 1940s with the first national football tournament held in 1948. Shortly an administrative office to coordinate the sports events in Male’ (the capital island) was created in 1950. During this period additional sports like tennis, volleyball, basketball, athletics and table tennis were gradually introduced.

From the very early days, sport governance and administration was centrally controlled. In 1977, the first office specifically created for this purpose was formed.

In 1983 a consultative body was formed to advise the government and in 1988 the Ministry of Home Affairs and Sports was established with a new focus on making sport an integral part of national development. The sport portfolio has been assigned to different Government ministries since then, but the focus has been on providing administrative and governance support to sports development.

The first national sport association was registered in 1981. Since then national associations have played a significant role in the development of sport in the Maldives. The National Olympic Committee formed in 1979 is a key partner in the development of sports in the Maldives. The Olympic Committee has helped in raising Maldives sports profile internationally by facilitating Maldives to participate in international sporting events and competitions. The Maldives was first represented internationally by a table tennis team, which visited China in 1973.

The first major international competition that Maldives participated was the Indian Ocean Games of 1979 held in Reunion in which the country received its first international award; a silver medal in badminton. Football is the most popular and widely played sport in the Maldives, and the sport which has brought the most accolades to the country. The Maldivian football team has won silver medals in the SAF Games held in 1991, and in the South Asian Championship held in 1997. In 2008, Maldives beat India to win a gold medal in the same competition.

From year 2000 sport related training and education has been under the responsibility of the Youth and Sports Development Centre (YSDC).  The idea of establishing a more comprehensive institute to cater for the need of developing sports in the country was announced by the President’s Office in 2011. In 27^th February 2012 Maldives National Institute of sports officially came to existence. 

Ali Asfaaq, Captain of  Maldives National Football Team

The purpose of the National Sports Institute is to function as a resource centre for the development of sports in Maldives. It will provide high quality education, training and research opportunities to improve the capacity of people involved in the sports sector. Specialised sports services will be developed to ensure athletes receive first-class treatment for injuries and get scientific support for their development in order to reach their maximum performance.