Event producers keeping fingers crossed

With the implementation of safe zones on the horizon president of the Entertainment Association of Barbados (EAB) Rudy Maloney wants Government to find a way for events to be held.

Maloney said while he was aware of the presence of the Delta variant on the island which had led to increased COVID-19 cases and deaths, he believed events could still be held safely.

He pointed to last weekend’s Miami Carnival in the United States which saw thousands of revellers taking to the streets. Revellers had to be either fully vaccinated or provide a negative PCR test to take part in the festivities.

In announcing the safe zones on Monday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said similar requirements would be in place in those zones.

“The same way you go to bars and restaurants and be safe and follow the protocols that are put in place I think that events can be done the same way. There are models for events all over the world right now. When you look at England, parts of Europe and in places closer to us like the US, they had events in New York and recently in Miami, so there are safe ways in doing events. We just need to choose the best parts of every model to make things work,” Maloney told Barbados TODAY.

He said the entertainment sector was crossing its fingers and looking forward to a re-start of events before the end of the year.

Maloney said discussions surrounding a similar arrangement had taken place months ago but had never been implemented.

“I want to be optimistic, but in June the Prime Minister and the entertainment association had discussions about re-opening the industry and it wasn’t called a safe zone but some similar protocols were put in place for the industry: people fully vaccinated, people getting PCR tests 24 to 48 hours before going to events, but nothing ever materialized.

“So now we have to wait and see what are the conditions coming with the safe zones, if it is going to make sense for the industry, if it is going to make sense for business. People just see the partying side of entertainment, they don’t see the business side so it has to make sense for an event producer to put on an event so there are things that we have to wait and see before we start to jump up and clap,” Maloney explained.

He said he was still concerned that all other sectors had been re-opened except the entertainment sector.

“From our looking in from the outside you would see that entertainment is the last thing to be re-opened. In fact, nearly every single industry has been opened up in Barbados and the entertainment industry has not been re-opened and we have not even been given the chance to re-open. Everything has been put on hold from December 31, 2020, til now.

“I don’t want to sound harsh or not concerned about the COVID cases but it is just the reality of life, so we have to wait and see what the Prime Minister and what the health officials put in place to see how entertainment can work just like all the other industries,” Maloney said.

Maloney said stakeholders in the industry were willing to work with Government to make Barbados safe and to find a way for the industry to be re-opened.
randybennett@barbadostoday.bb