100 days to go: On track to ‘best ever World Cup’ – Lynch

Barbados is on track to deliver one of the best cricketing events the world has ever seen when the ICC T20 World Cup comes here, the head of the tournament’s local organising committee has said.

Ambassador Noel Lynch made the declaration to journalists Thursday at a showcase in The City to mark “100 Days to Go” to the start of the June event.

Speaking at the end of a street parade through the centre of the capital to Freedom Park Golden Square, Ambassador Lynch said that arrangements were moving quickly and that Barbadians could be certain that the cricket event would be a huge success.

He said: “I believe that we are on track to deliver the best T20 World Cup ever. Barbados is accustomed to delivering World Cups of this level; in 2007 we did it, in 2010 we did it, and this year is going to be even better.

“I think we have learned from a lot of the mistakes we have made in the past, and we have been able to assemble two spectacular committees, not just in terms of what the bid called for, but the government of Barbados thought it prudent to even go outside of just a local organising committee, and put together a national organising committee.

“That NOC, we’ve got almost every ministry in Barbados, and public and private sector agencies that are feeding into this. What must happen out of this World Cup, is that Barbadians must feel that we have gotten our full pound of flesh out of this World Cup. Every single Barbadian citizen must feel that even if he or she didn’t get an immediate benefit; that in the future there is a legacy benefit that must accrue for them.”

The economic benefits of the World Cup will also have a favourable impact on the country’s tourism figures, as they have in the past, said Ambassador Lynch, a former tourism marketing professional and sports administrator.

“Some of the best economic times that we have ever had in Barbados, [have] come post-world cups, particularly in 2007,” he told reporters .”You can look at the GDP figures, GDP per capita, GDP growth, was the best in 2008 and 2009 in Barbados. That was particularly due to the World Cup and people coming here for the World Cup.

“Obviously it’s a tourism event, we want to see more tourists [coming to] Barbados post this event. We want them to experience Barbados at its best.”

(SB)