by Linda Straker
- Spicemas 2023 cost approximately E$4.1 million
- Media launch of Spicemas 2024 was held on 29 April
- Theme for Spicemas 2024 is “An explosion of culture”
Cecil Noel, Chief Executive Officer of Spicemas Corporation is projecting that there will be an increase in expenditure for Spicemas 2024.
“Spicemas 2023 cost us approximately E$4.1 million to put it on…and when we do some rough calculation it will cost us approximately EC$5 million to put it on this year,” Noel said during the media launch of carnival 2024, branded as Spicemas, which was held on 29 April.
Noel said that the main financiers for carnival are the National Lotteries Authority (NLA) which is a statutory body under the supervision of the Ministry of Sports and Government. “The NLA has been playing a very pivotal role in terms of the finances that we receive; we were able to receive from them EC$1.1 million and we were able to receive EC$1 million from the government. What we received was EC$2.1 to run the carnival, the actual budget was EC$4.1 million,” he said.
Noel, who did not provide a breakdown of the financial support received from other sponsors in the private sector, said, “The additional support we got was from sponsors, they remain a key component of what we do.” The rest of the money came from other initiatives including pay-per-view packages for its semi-final shows, and gate receipts.
“Other aspect of the carnival such as gate receipts bought it up, so we were able to cover and yes, we don’t owe anybody. We were able to pay all our bills for 2023,” he said, but did not disclose whether the corporation registered a profit or break-even in terms of its investment.
Kurt Ross, Spicemas chairman said that the theme for Spicemas 2024 is “An explosion of culture.” He said that Spicemas will officially be launched on 4 May and is more than just a party. “It is a cultural experience,” he said.