New Rules, Bigger Prize as ‘Belize at 45’ Competition Begins

Belize is gearing up for a bigger, bolder Independence celebration, and organizers say they’re already feeling the excitement as this year’s “Belize at 45” theme competition officially opens with stricter rules, a higher prize, and a call for creativity straight from the heart.

 

Eluide Miller, National Celebrations Commission

“We are absolutely looking forward to the Belize at Forty-five celebrations this year. As it relates to the theme competition, as you highlighted, last week Friday, I believe February twentieth, the call went out for the Belize at Forty-five theme competition for this year. Last year, this competition saw just under four hundred submissions and the winning theme, of course, was “Belize at Forty-four: Stronger Together, Rising Forever.” The commission felt that that really captured the spirit of our nation at that time. And, of course, last year we had two winners who were the co-authors of that submission. And so, this competition is really significant for us. The criteria is very straightforward, submissions must be no more than ten words. So we like a theme or submissions that are extremely concise, straight to the point but really captures the Belizean spirit during the independence season. The other criteria is that each person has only up to three entries. So if you’re making a submission, you can make a submission, but no more than three entries or else your submissions will be disqualified. We are also prohibiting the use of AI this year, and so entries will be tested for an AI score and those who exceed a certain percentage, forty to fifty percent, will be disqualified. Of course, the deadline has been set for early April. April tenth, to be precise, end of the day on April tenth. The price is being increased to two thousand dollars this year, as opposed to one thousand dollars, which it has been for the past couple of years.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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