The Indian Ocean paradise island country of Maldives has introduced a franchised version for the Visit Maldives Year 2016 (VMY2016) year and will present the singing competition as “Maldives Idol.”

Perhaps a Maldivian host, much like Ryan Seacrest in America, will open the inaugural show with that familiar phrase, “This IS Maldives Idol!”

This new show will coincide with the celebration of 50 years of independence for Maldives and promises to be the biggest national event that the country’s travel and tourism industry has ever seen.

The Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation, Abdulla Ziyath, announced this exciting news to the Maldivian public during the Visit Maldives Year Music Festival held to celebrate the 50th Independence Day of the Maldives.

During the launch of this news, together with the Public Media Service of Maldives on stage, it was also pointed out that international judges and a crew will be involved in the Maldivian Idol. This news, which was music to the ears of all the Maldivians aspiring to become singers, was one of the highlights of the first Visit Maldives Year Music Festival.

Abdulla Ziyath also marked the event as the debut of a number of events to follow during the celebratory year for the Maldivian tourism industry, conducted as the Visit Maldives Year 2016 campaign.

This campaign will be a year-long series of global and local events focusing on strengthening and growing Maldivian tourism, targeting 1.5 million tourist visits during the year 2016.

The VMY2016 will be a series of special entertainment events, educational and awareness programs, competitions, and attractive prizes carried out by the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation together with the tourism industry.

President of Maldives Abdulla Yameen; the First Lady; and the Vice President, Ahmed Adeeb, also attended the music festival along with most of the country’s ministers.

The renowned Indian band, SANAM, was invited to the Maldives to perform in this remarkable music festival for Visit Maldives Year 2016. The band, which had tremendous support of the locals, was a top hit and excelled the show with a surprise performance with local artist, Mira.

Great talent was portrayed by local artists, bands, and groups, who also performed in the music festival. A special appearance was made by Bollywood actress, Bipasha Basu, at the show; who was accompanied by TV actor Karan Singh Grover.

The first Visit Maldives Year 2016 Music Festival was a great success, and more of these events will be seen during the celebration of VMY2016, with Maldives Idol slated to be a centerpiece of these celebrations.