What is "tuvalu"

Tuvalu ( or ), formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia, lying east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (belonging to the Solomons), southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna and north of Fiji. It comprises three reef islands and six true atolls spread out between the latitude of 5° to 10° south and longitude of 176° to 180°, west of the International Date Line. Tuvalu has a population of 10,640 (2012 census). The total land area of the islands of Tuvalu is .

The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians. The pattern of settlement that is believed to have occurred is that the Polynesians spread out from Samoa and Tonga into the Tuvaluan atolls, with Tuvalu providing a stepping stone to migration into the Polynesian Outlier communities in Melanesia and Micronesia.

In 1568, Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to sail through the archipelago, sighting the island of Nui during his expedition in search of Terra Australis. In 1819 the island of Funafuti was named Ellice's Island; the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay. The islands came under Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century, when each of the Ellice Islands was declared a British Protectorate by Captain Gibson of between 9 and 16 October 1892. The Ellice Islands were administered as British protectorate by a Resident Commissioner from 1892 to 1916 as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT), and then as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony from 1916 to 1974.

A referendum was held in December 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration. As a consequence of the referendum, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony ceased to exist on 1 January 1976 and the separate British colonies of Kiribati and Tuvalu came into existence. Tuvalu became fully independent within the Commonwealth on 1 October 1978. On 5 September 2000 Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations.

Tuvalu is a 1999 experimental movie from Germany. The style evokes early 20th Century Silent movies and motifs commonly found in German expressionism. The sparse dialog is presented in a mix of European languages. The film stars Denis Lavant as Anton and Chulpan Khamatova as Eva.

The film focuses on Anton as he tries to win the heart of Eva and save his family's bath house from the wrecking ball.

Tuvalu is a Polynesian island nation.

Tuvalu may also refer to:

• Tuvalu (novel)
• Tuvalu (film), a 1999 German film
• Tuvalu (band), a Finnish indie rock band

Tuvalu is a Finnish band, founded in 2003 in Tampere- Helsinki-axis. They gained recognition with their debut EP Mitä muut ajattelevat sinusta? in 2004. The band was named after Veit Helmer's movie and the island nation with the same name.

The first album "Pimeä saartaa meitä!" was released in 2006. Rumba called the album "a stylish debut" but criticised the lyrics. Aamulehti gave the album 4/5 stars.

In 2008 the album "Viimeiset hetket ovat käsillä!" was released.

The band has stated that Tuvalu's music will not be played in radios in an act against Finnish music business.

Tuvalu is a 2006 novel by Australian author Andrew O'Connor. It won The Australian/Vogel Literary Award for unpublished manuscripts by writers under 35.