Among Soviet delegates to the Festival will be the world-famous composer Shostakovich (miraculously recovered from his recent liquidation in the "N.Z. Listener") who will sit on the jury for the musical competitions. The Soviet delegation will also include the Obrazcov puppet theatre, ballet dancers from the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre, dance and choir groups from the national republics, the CDK football team, and, perhaps, the famous arctic explorer Papanin.

Two representatives of Mongolian youth travelled 8,000 miles from Ulan Bator to Prague to discuss Mongolian participation in the Festival. They plan to bring to Prague the Mongolian National Ballet, choirs, singery and folk instruments, an exhibition of paintings, sculptures, carvings, metal work, embroideries and photographs, and two films—"The Mongolian People's Republic" and "Tsogto-Taidji."

The Central Union of Chinese Students in Great Britain is sending a Chinese play in English, an exhibition of paintings and woodcuts, and they will also participate in sports activities.

The Federation of Youth Organisations in the Indonesian Republic is preparing an exhibition on the life and struggles of Indonesian youth. Should they be unable to send representatives from Indonesia, they will be represented by Indonesians living in Holland.

Twenty-five students from McGill University will be among Canadian representatives to the Festival. They will afterwards proceed to Yugoslavia. A French-Canadian theatrical group is also expected to attend the Festival.

The French Festival Committee is organising a torch relay race from Oradour (the French "Lidice" destroyed by the Nazis) via Italy and Austria to Lidice.

Fifty delegates from the Kuomintan San Min Chu I Youth Corps will attend the Festival. They will bring with them exhibitions of photographs, books, drawings, sculptures, embroideries, etc.

A short newsreel on Festival preparations is being shown in Prague cinemas and has been sent to other countries for general distribution. A film festival will be organised in Prague during the Festival. Altogether, 25 artistic and 34 documentary films from many countries will be screened. Two new French films will have their world premiere at the Festival.

The International Student Service is sending films, photographs and drawings to Prague. Overseas students coming for study tours to Europe under the auspices of ISS will spend some time in Prague participating in the Festival.

Two thousand British visitors are expected at the Festival. A meeting to set up a preparatory committee met in January and was attended by representatives from 27 youth organisations.

Youth of the western Hemisphere at chartering a special airliner to take them to Prague.

The 1947 Extrav. will be shown to ogling Wellington audiences from Saturday, May 17th, till the following Thursday. Rehearsals for the Show commenced on March 31st—seven weeks before the opening of the show! The whole show was rehearsed on Sunday, April 27th, with still three weeks to go! Rehearsals to date have not been a general fiasco due to too much exuberance and general pandemonium, but have rather been typified by hard work from all members of the cast, the wardrobe and props, dept. The orchestra has been formed, a company of over twenty members, and has put in three practice nights a week. The show is shaping extremely well but the tempo must be increased until it reaches fever-pitch on the opening night. Artificial stimulants have not so far been necessary.