Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 22, 2008 News
…persons without tickets can watch live broadcast at home
As Guyana opens the curtain on Carifesta X today, President Bharrat Jagdeo and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Dr. Frank Anthony, are urging Guyanese who did not get a ticket to attend the opening, to be ‘understanding’.
Yesterday, Minister Anthony announced that all the tickets for the opening ceremony have been exhausted.
He, however, announced that the opening ceremony will be broadcast live on Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) and on National Communication Network (NCN).
Speaking to the media yesterday, President Jagdeo said that he is pleased with the ‘excitement’ that is in the air despite the small glitches that have occurred.
“I am very happy about the spirit and so many people wanting to participate in the festivals. We made a conscious decision at the beginning that all of the activities will be free…,” the President said.
Even at the initial stages of planning, he added, it was known that by making the activities free the demand would be far greater than the capacity to accommodate people.
He urged those who have tickets to go early to the stadium for the opening ceremony but warned those who do not have not to waste their time but instead stay at home and watch the
live broadcast.
“If you do not have a ticket, it does not make sense that you turn up at the venue because you will not get in.”
At the same time, the Head of State used the opportunity to thank the thousands of people who have worked on the preparation for Carifesta.
The Prime Ministers of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, of Antigua and Bermuda and President of Suriname will be in Guyana along with several Ministers from a number of countries for the opening ceremony.
Briefing the media yesterday, Dr. Anthony said that there will be at least 3328 participants in the opening ceremony.
Explaining the ticketing issues, the Culture Minister said that while there is an overwhelming response from the public, the entire field at the stadium will be used for the stage.
“The rush that we are getting is for the opening and closing ceremonies and that is because there are limited tickets. The reason why the tickets are limited is that while the stadium holds 15,000 people seated, the stage was technically positioned at the mound because of sound direction. However, by positioning the stage in that direction we have taken over the place where at least 4000 more people could have been accommodated.”
The limited number of tickets, he added, is because of the physical constraints of venue.
Yesterday, there was a huge crowd at the Carifesta Secretariat blocking the employees from leaving the compound and causing delays in the distribution of tickets at many locations.
The tickets that are currently being distributed are those for the performing arts, super concerts and grand market.
“There are a number of venues that are not ticketed…so while we have tickets for some venues there are a number of others that are not ticketed,” the Minister said.
Those non-ticketed venues are the National Park, Umana Yana and museums.
The visual arts exhibition, symposiums and film festivals also do not require a ticket.
“We are in pretty good shape,” Minister Anthony said as he assured Guyanese that the festival will certainly showcase Guyana and the entire region.
Earlier in the week, Commissioner of Police (ag), Henry Greene, said that the Police Force headquarters will do ‘very little book work,’ since ranks are expected to be on the streets.
This is being done, he said, so as to ensure that adequate security is provided at all venues.
He advised that persons leave their homes early for the Carifesta destinations, since they will have to be part of a routine search.
The Joint Services have also been deployed across Guyana to provide air, road and sea patrol.
(Tusika Martin)
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
Apr 19, 2024
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