Waiting List Song Contest 232

For more information about the 232nd contest and the actual show go to thread. The Waiting List Song Contest 232 was the 232nd edition of the Waiting List Song Contest and was held in Griffin Empire following their edition at the previous edition with the song "Når Snøen Smelter" sung by Astrid S. The contest was held in the ice hockey arena in the city of Planigslæting which was the hometown of the previous winner. Balearica Island had their debut performance, two nations returned - Serenes and Tanoiro, while six nations withdrew mostly due to failed negotiations on changing the current Nation Song Contest rules - Gringotts, Joseyeon, Kimmystan, Låpøtré, Svobodnia and West INK. Two nations vote as a special guests - Svobodnia and a new NBU member - Fierraria. Host nation, Griffin Empire, won on the home ground collecting 137 points breaking their previous record and achieving the 7th biggest victory at the competition. Mormadorei came in second place for the second time, while Moisantian entry finished in third place.

Location
Planigslæting (Dnimdierlandic dialect: Planiħslaaħtiħ) is the centre and largest city of the Dnimdjermadnait duchy in the Griffin principality of Õklingsmaa. It is located on the Edtwejs river at the foot of the Sübmonss Mountain in the Griffin part of Natian Alps.

The population of the city of Planigslæting is 675,122, while the population of the Planigslæting metropolitan area was 1,067,658 which makes it the largest city in the Natian Alps, ahead of Griffin Emozý and Pyreican Ansèth. A significant Western Natian scientific centre, the city advertises itself as the "Griffin Capital of the Natian Alps", due to its size and its proximity to the mountains. Its history goes back over 2,000 years, to a time when it was a village of the first Griffinic tribes. It became the capital of the Dnimdjermadnait Duchy in the Griffin middle ages. The city later became a parliamentary and military city, close to the border with Biflovatia. Industrial development increased the prominence of Planigslæting through several periods of economic expansion over the centuries. These expansions included glove industry boom, development of hydropower industry and post-isolationist economic boom symbolized by the holding of the Natian Winter Games five times.

The city has grown to be one of Griffin and Natia's most important research, technology and innovation centres, with one in five inhabitants working directly in these fields. It is classified as a global city with the ranking of "sufficiency" by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. The city also held the title of Natian Green Capital.

Bidding phase
In the same fashion as it has been done the last time Griffin Empire hosted the show, the bidding phase was done behind the closed doors. The rules and criteria for the final decision were announced with the host city itself.

Before the comepetition between venues and cities started, it was decided by GTV that the contest will be held in the principality of Õklingsmaa as an homage to Astrid S, since it was her birth principality. Other rules remained the same.

Every city had an option to submit one application that included only one arena as well as plans for Natiaclub and Natiavision village. There were 7 Oklish cities that have had their applications approved, and they were shortlisted including bizzare proposals from village of Gmöt to host it in the local castle and Pohtlain's bid to host the contest in front of the city walls. A few bids have been some key factors like the roof or enough capacity. The second biggest city in the principality - Planigslæting was chosen as the host city, leaving an early favourites Hermýn and Emozý behind. Natiavision village was situated on the famous Andrëihkh Tere Square and Natiaclub was located in Sportsiplaits - venue that previously attempted to host the contest's 212th edition.

Theme
The slogan and the theme of the competition was "isbröshjnardniq" which, translated from the standard Griffin language, would mean "icebreaker" alluding to the winter holidays and traditionally cold Griffin weather. In the centre of the postcards and the show itself was the nature and landscapes of Griffin Empire during winter. This edition was important for the Griffin Empire - it was fifth Griffin victory and the sixth time the competition was held here, but also the country celebrated its fiftieth entry which also was the winning song of the jubilee tenth edition of the Griffin National Festival - Griffiniskaja Laul. The show was heavily sponsored and supported by Griffin Ministry of Culture.

Hosts
The winning song from the 231st edition is the main soundtrack for the new version of the cult classic "Tři oříšky pro Popelku", with the artist, Astrid S playing the main role. So she was chosen as a host of the show to connect the themes of the song, the movie and the contest. Her co-host was also her co-star in the movie - Cengiz Al

Astrid Smeplass is a Griffin singer and songwriter. She placed fifth in the Griffin version of Pop Idol. Last year she released her debut studio album, Leave It Beautiful, through Universal. Her song "Hurts So Good" became a viral sleeper hit, after gaining popularity on the social media platform TikTok. In response to this newfound popularity, the song was re-released as a single on the complete edition of her debut studio album Leave It Beautiful. Later, a collaboration version of the song was released, which featured Danish artist Maximillian and music producer Kina. It remains her most streamed song on Spotify, garnering over 300 million listens.

Cengiz Al is a Griffin actor and dancer. His filmography includes series like Skam where he portrayed Yousef Acar in the Season 4, and movies like Alle utlendinger har lukka gardiner, Nordsjøen and Tre nøtter til Askepott which is his most notable role yet.

Stage
Over 41,000 Swarovski crystals were used in the creation of the four designs, taking a team of 15 people over 2,100 hours to put together. Creative director David Korins said: “There’s a lot of rectilinear and rigid thinking and there’s a lot of ups and downs, and I wanted to make something that was a distinct statement about inclusion. There’s almost not a [single] straight line onstage and [in] the entire design.” To bring his vision of inclusivity to life, Korins partnered with Swarovski crystals to create four designs that will reign prominently on the Oscars stage: a 1,600-pound cloud-shaped installation aptly called the “Crystal Cloud”; a three-story-high, 54-foot-wide ribbon-like formation called the “Crystal Swag”; and two “Crystal Presenter Backings,” which will appear directly behind the awards presenters.

“We have built an installation of an incredibly soft, beautiful, sweeping, asymmetrical portal that wraps literally out into the audience, covers the opera boxes, and hugs the audience,” Korins said. “It is a statement of inclusion, it’s a statement about community in the room and then also reaching out through the camera with the different kinds of immersive angles.” The Crystal Cloud is made up of thousands of hand-strung beads and will have an amorphous shape that will “literally feel like a cloud floating on the stage,” Korins said. The Crystal Swag, meanwhile, will play on a different, more structured architectural shape, with twists and spirals that make it look almost like a rain curtain flipped on its head, so that the “water droplets” appear to be falling upwards.​

List of spokespersons
The spokespersons announced the score from their respective country in the following order:
 * Griffin Empire — Synnøve Macody Lund (actress)
 * Effiland — Jennifer Coolidge (actress & comedian)
 * Balearica Island — Sharon den Adel (singer)
 * Sween — Unknown beggar
 * Svobodnia — Marcin Sojka (singer)
 * Tanoiro — Andrea Mello (artist)
 * Mormadorei — شهره آغداشلو‎ (actress)
 * Akatsuki — Nathalie Brydolf (singer)
 * Fierraria — Serena Lomez (TV host)
 * Solentoya — Billie Piper (actress, singer, filmmaker)
 * Moisantia — Russell Tovey (actor)
 * Öösingimäed — Snoopy (comic books character)
 * Bigicia — Sabrina Carpenter (singer & actress)
 * Emsfrynt — Bích Phương (singer)
 * Pyreica — Marmota Marmota (alpine marmot)
 * Oussou Empire — Stylianos Florides (model)
 * New Bander State — DOROTHY (singer)
 * Tamausia & Deltannor — Tamar Braxton (singer & TV personality)
 * Utopolis — Fancy bakfiets (freight bicycle)
 * Rehi Kaita — Tarah Upo (actor)
 * Serenes — Bill Wurtz (singer & online personality)
 * Endórë — Eithne Ní Bhraonáin (singer-songwriter and musician)
 * Belvist — Davina Michelle (singer)