LOOP: Antigua’s Carnival 2024 has been hailed as a triumph, with Minister Daryll Matthew, who holds responsibility for the festival, expressing his enthusiasm about the event’s achievements.
“I believe I can say without fair contradiction that we have had a very successful Canva 2024,” the Minister declared in a press conference this morning, highlighting the growth and improvements seen this year.
The festival saw significant increases across various aspects. Matthew noted, “We have seen an increase in our numbers, we have seen an increase in our participation, we have seen an increase in our corporate support.”
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This growth in attendance, participation, and sponsorship underscores the festival’s growing popularity and economic impact.
One of the notable achievements this year was the on-stage presentation of prize money to the steel bands.
“For the first time this year, certainly the first time during my tenure, since 2018, we presented prize monies on stage to the bands,” Matthew proudly stated.
He detailed the prize structure, saying, “We presented, I believe it was $35,000 to the winning band, $30,000 to the first runner-up, $25,000 to the second runner-up, and all the unplaced bands received $20,000 each.”
The Minister emphasized, “We have a very deep appreciation of the cost that it takes to produce a panorama.”
Financial transparency and timely payments were generally prioritized this year.
Matthew explained, “The public would be fully aware that Queen of Carnival, Calypso Monarch, Soca Monarch, the Junior Events, we present prize monies on stage. The reason for that really is because, you know, we do not want our festival to be marred in controversy. And the biggest cause of controversy, most times, is money and finances.”
The organizers also made strides in ensuring prompt payment to service providers.
“I believe this year as well, we did quite well in ensuring that a lot of our service providers were paid. And were paid 75% of their funds prior to Carnival 2021. I cannot remember in recent times that this has happened,” the Minister added.
These financial improvements, coupled with increased participation and support, paint a picture of a carnival that is not only growing in scale and popularity but also in its operational efficiency and fairness.
In addition, there were only two violent incidents related to the festival.
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