The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM Minister Obie Wilchcombe said yesterday that he was “taken aback” by the postponement on Friday of the two final nights of the highly touted Caribbean Muzik Festival.

The four-day festival was postponed after two nights of activity because of what organisers called “insurmountable logistical difficulties.”

The nature of those difficulties are not clear, with one of the event’s directors Desmond Knowles telling The Tribune yesterday that he could offer “no further details at this time”.

The Caribbean Muzik Festival is produced and promoted by a company called Caribbean Republic Inc.

Although the Bahamas government is not responsible for the event, the Ministry of Tourism is one of its major sponsors and has invested more than $600,000 into the festival.

Mr Wilchcombe said the government does not have a role in the organisation of the event, but “we have a team that liaises with all groups in which we are the major sponsor”.

He added: “Our investment is $650,000. Our involvement is aimed at causing a major festival creating another signature event –- creating job and opportunities for vendors, artists and to fill our hotels during the traditional soft periods.”

The postponement caught many by surprise.

Some Bahamians learned of it just as they were getting ready to attend the event’s “dancehall night” at Arawak Cay on Friday.

One scheduled performer, Ira Storr, told The Tribune his band was supposed to play Saturday night at the Thomas A Robinson stadium.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” he said yesterday. “Nobody gave me any information. I told my band we’re not going to be there. I don’t know what the circumstances are.”

Mr Storr said he has not heard directly from the festival’s directors.

To some, the postponement marks an inauspicious return for an event that had been on hiatus for 17 years and was expected to boost cultural tourism in the region.

“The festival organisers assure the public that full restitution will be made on ticket purchases and vendors will be refunded fees paid and all contractual obligations will be met,” event organisers said in a statement Friday.

“As soon as discussions are concluded with all strategic and interested partners, another date for the resumption of the festival will be announced. We apologise to the public, artists, vendors and other parties who will be disappointed by this decision. We assure all that Caribbean Muzik Festival will resume under more favourable conditions.”

That announcement that the promoters will refund tickets while saying the event has been postponed has confounded some.

Mr Wilchcombe said he found this “interesting.”

He said perhaps organisers are “operating on the premise that there will be those who want refunds even though the event will still take place at a later date.”

When asked about the possibility that not attracting top performing talent throughout the region was to blame for the postponement, Mr Wilchcombe said that to his knowledge, the festival secured top performers who were ready to perform.

And although the government made an agreement with event organisers to host the event for five years, Mr Wilchcombe acknowledged yesterday that this agreement is conditional on the viability of hosting the festival.

Among other things, it will be important to determine if the issues prompting the event’s postponement are “resolvable” before a determination is made about the event’s future in the Bahamas, he said.

He added that he is concerned particularly for vendors who invested in the event.

“Some vendors I’m deeply concerned about because they spent their money already to buy their stuff, to prepare their stuff, so to be told in the last minute that the event has been postponed is not enticing,” he said. “It will be important for them to explain to the people what happened, to apologise and to see how best to move forward. We have an obligation to vendors who have made an investment to ensure that their investments are not thrown away.”

The event, he noted, was a part of the government’s efforts to fill the Bahamian calendar with musical and sporting events that would promote culture, encourage commerce and put a spotlight on the country’s tourism products all year round.

In a statement endorsing the festival ahead of its start on October 28, Prime Minister Perry Christie said the event would “serve to deepen our cultural identity, improve our tourism product and secure our region’s position as a premier destination or cultural and heritage tourism.”

Mr Christie added: “I congratulate the promoters on their efforts and offer the assurance that the government and people of the Bahamas will assist in every way possible to make this year’s staging of the Caribbean Muzik Festival a resounding success.”

Confirmed performers for the event included nearly 30 artists including the Soweto Gospel Choir, Lady Saw, Kes the Band, Alison Hinds and such Bahamian artists as KB, Ira Storr and Funky D.