by Linda Straker
Grenada’s National Panorama competition has been rescheduled to be held 4 days after the official end of Carnival 2017, as a result of a decision made on Saturday night to postpone the annual event traditionally held on the Saturday before Carnival Monday and Tuesday.
Scheduled to commence at 7 pm in the Junior Murray/Rawl Lewis stand of the National Stadium on 12 August, the competition never got started, although all 8 of the registered bands for the competition were lined up outside the stadium, waiting to be called on stage.
Almost 2.5 hours after the scheduled start time during which 2 announcements were made apologising for the late start, the less than 500 patrons were told that the competition was postponed to another date.
“It will be held next Saturday,19 August at 7 pm at the National Stadium. If you are unable to make it, you can obtain a refund from the Spicemas Corporation office,” the announcement from the master of ceremonies informed the patrons.
The audience responded with shouts of ‘Noooo!’
“This is disrespect to pan lovers and pan players,” said attorney Lisa Taylor who offered to provide legal consultation to the Steelband Association if the issue becomes a legal battle.
It was further explained that the reason for the change in date was due to the safety of pan players on the incomplete stage — still under construction when patrons started arriving at the venue. The Steelband Association was responsible for the stage construction with Spicemas Corporation responsible for construction costs.
The show was originally agreed to be held at the Tanteen Netball Court. After an emergency meeting last Monday between Culture Minister Brenda Hood, the Steelband Association and the Spicemas Corporation, it was agreed that the competition would return to the National Stadium, but held in the Junior Murray/Rawl Lewis stand of the Cricket Stadium.
Over the years the Panorama competition – which has been experiencing continuous reduction of patrons in attendance – has become the show which brings in the least in revenue. The 2016 Panorama total revenue was EC$24,000, while expenditure was $376,000.
