The downturn in the economy seems already to have had a negative impact on Carnival 2016 fetes and events as two promoters say sponsorship has been either hard to come by or unavailable since some sponsors have pulled out.
Chief executive officer of SouthEx, George Singh, who promotes the Chutney Soca Monarch (CSM) competition, said the cuts have been deep.
It costs close to $10 million to host the CSM, inclusive of prize money. Singh said it was difficult to say the number of sponsors but that there was a drop by 50 per cent.
He told the Sunday Guardian, “In years gone by, sponsors would jump on board even if it was with smaller amounts but this year they have pulled back completely.”
He added that certain corporate sponsors had “gone off” the Carnival party scene.
Singh said it was understandable that the sponsorship pie was smaller for 2016 since almost all promoters send requests to the same companies.
“The thing about it is that it’s a small pool of people that support Carnival. The corporate market is very few and so you have all these promoters going to the same people so they are burdened with all these requests and there is only so much they can accommodate.”
Telecommincations giant TSTT said it would be cutting back on sponsorship of events as Carnival was coming right on the heels of the public celebrating Christmas, amidst a slowing economy and low energy prices. Digicel and Carib Brewery said they were ensuring they received value for what they put out.
This year there are over 150 all-inclusives, cooler fetes and breakfast parties spread over January 1 to Ash Wednesday—a total of 41 days, with as many as 60 in the five weekends of January and 90 in the first ten days of February.
On Carnival Saturday, there are expected to be 19 events, while 18 are carded for Carnival Sunday.
Already ten days into the 2016 Carnival season, one highly anticipated fete—Soka in Moka—which was held last weekend, saw a lower turnout than in previous years. And there is also word that some events have “fallen off the calendar.”
The December announcement that T&T was in a recession seems to have resonated with several partygoers who have expressed mixed views about the fetes they intend to patronise.
Some have said they will be cautiously watching their spending habits while looking for value for their money in a wave of fetes ranging from $250 to as high as $3,200.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-01-09/recession-hits-fetes-hard
Replies
Good. Now carnival will return to it's roots, the street party, the neighbour hood lime, the smaller bands with real participation in the making and playing of Mas. The street vendors will return, ( having been gradually disenfranchised by the all-inclusives) and the profits of carnival will be shared by far more people in the wider society.
It is not a Recession- it is a Renaissance. Give thanks