By Stephen Spark
Mangrove, 2018 Panorama champions. Photograph: Stephen Spark
It was my first time at Panorama for several years, but the warmth of the welcome dispelled the unsummery chill in the west London air – once I had managed to breach the defences of Fortress Horniman’s Pleasance.
The park was hidden from view by solid metal barriers, so the only way you could see the annual steelband clash was by buying a £5 ticket, which you exchanged at the entrance for a wristband. This was something new, and not only for me. If you hadn’t bought in advance, online, you were out of luck – park full. Many were the illustrious names who found themselves shut out of the show. Those who warned a charge would put people off coming to Panorama were clearly wrong, but a rumoured £10 charge being contemplated for next year might meet more resistance.
Another change from my last visit was in the people coming to enjoy Britain’s grand steelpan showcase. The audience was far more mixed, with many South Americans and Europeans evident in the queue that snaked down Kensal Road. In the days leading up to the competition, both Panorama and the steelbands received far more attention than usual from national press and broadcasters. That’s an encouraging sign, and proves that positive engagement with the media does pay off. But what to do with all the people who now know about and want to experience Panorama but can’t get in to it?
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