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Contact: Nick Watson
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nick.w@seychelles.com

For Immediate Release

Underwater photo, video competitions offer chance at free Seychelles holiday

Entries from across the globe are already being invited for the photo and video competitions of SUBIOS, the annual underwater festival of the islands of Seychelles.

The winners of the competition will receive airfare and accommodation for an exclusive Seychelles holiday, offering visitors a chance to explore this tropical getaway known for its sparkling blue water, white sandy beaches and lush mountainsides, in addition to its excellent diving.

The SUBIOS photo and video competition is an opportunity for both professional and amateur photographers and filmmakers to capture stunning shots of the natural underwater world at work. The yearly event, which in 2006 will be held from March 6-12, continually produces a number of impressive visuals taken in Seychelles and other places around the world – some focusing on sharks, turtles and whales, while others delve into the often curious relationship between organisms along colourful coral reefs.

Entry forms and additional details about the competition can be downloaded at www.subios.sc

About SUBIOS

SUBIOS (or Sub Indian Ocean Seychelles) started in 1989 when a number of diving enthusiasts teamed up with the Seychelles government in an effort to highlight and promote Seychelles’ remarkable marine world, the excellent diving it offers to visitors and also to sensitize the local population to the aspects of their unique marine heritage.

Over the years SUBIOS has continued to gather momentum, attracting divers, photographers, filmmakers and journalists from all over the world to participate in an annual week-long celebration of the sea and the underwater environment.

Now under the management of the Seychelles Tourism Board, SUBIOS in 2006 is going back to the places where the festival originally began – the hotels of Seychelles – in a move meant to better highlight Seychelles’ uniqueness as a diving destination under the theme “The Gardens Below.”

Big Deal in Tiny Seychelles

In a country where more than 99.9 percent of its territory consists of ocean, the marine environment takes on a special importance.

The vice president of Seychelles, Joseph Belmont, will officially open SUBIOS 2006 on March 6 at the International Conference Centre in the heart of Victoria, one of the world’s smallest capitals.

Vice President Belmont will kick off a week’s worth of national activities across the main islands of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue, including art and creative contests in schools, as well as snorkelling trips and introductory dives for children. The conference centre will play host to a number of school presentations and lectures from international and local guest speakers during the week.

Additionally, different dive centres will be teaming up with hotels each night during the week for a different SUBIOS soirée involving any number of activities, from slide show presentations to beach barbecues.

The weekend of March 11-12 will see the SUBIOS celebrations converge on Victoria, where an open-air “ SUBIOS Garden” will host most of the weekend festivities just a few minutes’ stroll away from the International Conference Centre, where the competing films and photos will be screened.

The SUBIOS Garden will give diving and underwater enthusiasts, as well as interested passers-by, a chance to check out diving and marine conservation displays and exhibitions, artists’ galleries and craft stalls and on-the-spot portraits and custom paintings, and also a variety of traditional Seychelles cuisine and Creole cooking, all in a carnival-like atmosphere with live music.

The weekend’s long list of special events includes:

• A “SUBIOS Man and Woman” triathlon-style event
• A virtual treasure hunt for locals and visitors alike with a clues aired on national radio and television and posted in hotels
• Exhibitions in the nearby National Library featuring SUBIOS-related displays and famous Seychelles shipwrecks, along with myths of yet-to-be-discovered pirate treasures
• Glass-bottom boat rides into the adjacent Ste Anne Marine National Park, and also introductory dives for novices
• A procession of school floats depicting the SUBIOS theme “The Gardens Below.”

Launch of SUBIOS.com

On December 1, 2006, the Seychelles Tourism Board is launching SUBIOS.com, a brand new website featuring all there is to know about the SUBIOS festival, as well as special packages with discounted rates on offer from airlines, dive centres and other partners in Seychelles.

In the meantime, additional information can be found at www.subios.sc