Event promoters hunt venues as municipal bodies offer sites

Since the announcement of the reopening of the entertainment industry, municipal corporations across the country have eagerly reached out to offer public venues for the hosting of events, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange has said.

And with private venue owners facing the possibility of missing out on revenue, Grange said they should anticipate the issuance of grants and other incentives to offset some losses.

“There are some grants that we are putting in place, and also even for private entities we are open to having a discussion with them to see how we can assist, because they are part of the entertainment ecosystem,” she told The Gleaner on Wednesday after an event at Knutsford Court Hotel honouring outstanding fathers.

Grange said that regulatory bodies – the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Jamaica Fire Brigade, and those under her purview – are still in discussions to finalise additional criteria to approve licensing of the events.

“We have specific protocols. We have 10 basic requirements, and then depending on the event, it may expand further,” she said.

Refraining from naming the chair of the panel overseeing requests, Grange said the ministry’s team will be the first to vet the applications in order to offer assistance to promoters to ensure that they meet the requirements.

Plans are also in train to launch a digital platform to facilitate ease of application and provide access to all entities involved in approvals.

In the meantime, for the cultural and entertainment activities, “that team is being put together and we are fine-tuning the different areas of responsibilities”, she said.

The reopening of the cultural and entertainment sector will provisionally run from July 1 to August 10.

Small private outdoor events will be granted permission to host no more than 100 people. The quota for the public sector will be 50.

The Government will host a free concert on July 1 at the Port Royal Pier, commemorating International Reggae Day, which will serve as a pilot for a large event.

“We will make sure that we display how we observe the protocols, and so on,” Grange told The Gleaner on Wednesday, adding that the Government was aiming to host 300-350 attendees.

The invited guests will include members of the Entertainment Advisory Board, representatives of music industry organisations, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders who have been in consultation with the Government.

There is uncertainty about the projected cost of the July 1 party, as Grange said that the ministry was “still reaching out to stakeholders to make their contribution to the event in kind”.

Immediately after Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ announcement in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, Major Desmon Brown, who is in charge of the Independence Park complex, said he received a phone call from someone eager to reserve the space.

“Six calls have been made to the office today,” the general manager said Wednesday.

Hosting an event at the National Arena and National Indoor Sports Centre normally costs about $270,000 per day, excluding utilities and sanitation.

“Some events carry a greater cleaning cost. Some don’t. And the air condition cost depends on the actual hours that they use it,” he said.

Though Independence Park has its own cleaning crew, it facilitates requests of event organisers to outsource cleaning companies.

“If the event organiser wants to take that on, they have to use the companies we approve because we have a certain standard we have to work with,” Brown said.

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