The King and Queen of the Bands competition at St. Lucia's 2013 Carnival. Photo by Flickr user Addy Cameron-Huff, used under a CC BY 2.0 license.
Saint Lucians at home and abroad who couldn't attend the Caribbean island's Carnival, which came to a close on Tuesday, had a harder time tuning in this year thanks to a decision not to have live television broadcasts of many of the festival's events, including the main calypso competition finals.
The Carnival Planning and Management Agency's official statement cited loss of revenue as the reason behind the move:
This move serves to bolster the gate receipts of Lucian Carnival’s signature events, which have traditionally aired live on television, and in some instances via web streaming platforms. All shows will, however, continue to be broadcasted live via the festival’s various radio partners.
As this year's Saint Lucian Carnival approached its climax, spectators and media personnel alike took to social media to voice their displeasure about the decision to ban any live coverage of events. Writing on the Facebook group “St. Lucians Aiming for Progress,” Clinton Reynolds was upset and felt that the rationale given for the decision was misguided:
How regressive! Did the organisers consider Saint Lucians in the diaspora, those in other countries and foreigners who might be interested in being part of Saint Lucia Carnival by viewing the competitions as they happen? And what about local fans who are physically UNABLE to attend? I hope that decision shot your gate receipts through the roof!
Replies
they gone and spoil a real good thing man…I really enjoyed last year's coverage and well looking forward for a repeat…only to get a half-pick duck...