More than 6 000 cricket-crazy English fans are set to descend upon Barbados within the next three months.
Between 500 and 1000 members of the Barmy Army are currently on the island for the five-match T20 series between the West Indies and England, with a further 5 000 expected for the three-match Test series, which kicks off in March.
Barbados will host the second Test match at Kensington Oval from March 16-20.
The Barmy Army is a company that provides tickets and arranges touring parties for some of its members to follow the English cricket team in the UK and overseas.
During a reception at Copacabana Beach Club Saturday afternoon, Adam Canning, Commercial Director of the Barmy Army, told members of the media persons from England were excited to finally be able to watch some cricket.
“It has been a long time since we’ve had a Test cricket tour or overseas tour. England fans couldn’t travel to Australia for the Ashes series, so the demand for coming overseas has been enormous. So, we have a lot of people here for the T20 series this week. A lot of England fans have travelled over and combined it with the holidays … people are just excited and happy to be back out doing cricket tours and no better place to start business as normal than coming back to Barbados,” Canning said.
“We anticipate that there will be at least 500 to 1 000 England fans in the stadium [for the T20 series] but we will be bringing at least 5 000 here for the Test series in Barbados in March, so very much a warm up for what’s to come later on.”
Canning admitted that while there was still “a bit of nervousness” in the UK due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most people had become accustomed to the restrictions and protocols.
Richard Haynes of South Central Entertainment, who helped to organize the event, which was also sponsored by the Barbados Tourism Management Inc (BTMI), Banks and Mount Gay, said Copacabana would be available to the Barmy Army for the duration of their stay in Barbados.
He said their presence would bring some much needed business.
“Today is the first day of the T20 series and I think you guys are probably aware that the English are very fanatic about their team so they travel in numbers. So, basically what we have done is to have a headquarters here at Copacabana for the Barmy Army where they are welcomed every day before cricket, during cricket and after cricket, where they can warm up for the game and enjoy Barbados in its most beautiful form on the beach,” Haynes explained.
“We’ve all been through a very tough period over the last two years so this is welcomed business for Copacabana,” Haynes said.
As part of the reception, the visitors were given a taste of Barbados’ culture with performances by the tuk band, stilt walkers and dancers dressed in Crop Over costumes. (RB)
