Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley declared the Vybz Kartel concert a success, citing its ability to increase tourism and stimulate the economy as justification for the government’s $220,000 expenditure.
Wheatley stated, “The show was a huge success. I have to congratulate Steve Parillon and the other promoters. It was a massive amount of effort. There was lots of movement and lots of challenges, but in the end, he was able to pull off an extremely successful show.”
- Advertisement -
Some locals and organizations, such as the BVI Christian Council, have criticized the government for funding the event. Premier Wheatley insisted, however, that the event was in line with the government’s tourist plan.
Dr. Wheatley stated that he sees no cause for remorse now that the event is gone. Premier Wheatley inquired, “Why would I regret our business community making money—our rental car agencies making money, our hotels being booked, vendors making money, the barber shops and the hair salons? Do you think they regret making the money?”
According to reports, the event, which included a number of local and foreign bands and was headlined by Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel, attracted sizable crowds, including tourists from outside the BVI. Additionally, local companies profited, Dr. Wheatley said.
He stated, “Absolutely. This is what we envisioned. This is what we call tourism. This is an investment in the tourism product. We had so many persons come from abroad. One lady told me she came from Alaska. And we had persons come from all over the United States and from several Caribbean countries.”
He further noted, “The rooms were rented, the rooms were booked, cars were rented, persons bought clothes, they bought food, the bars did well.”
Dr. Wheatley supported the choice to use public monies for the event in spite of criticism from certain places. He maintained that in order to boost the local economy, such expenditure was required.
The Premier responded to security worries by saying there were no incidents throughout the occasion.
He stated, “Everybody came out, they had a good time. During the show, I had no indications of any incidents, any fights, any disputes, anything like that. I know some persons were expecting a lot of trouble and a lot of problems but it was all love, Black-on-Black love.”
Dr. Wheatley remained steadfast when asked if he would authorize such investments in the future.
“Yeah, well, it’s a definite strategy for building a tourism product. And it’s not just shows like these. It’s Spring Regatta, it is the Caribbean Baking Awards, it’s the Pink Show, it’s the basketball, it’s cricket. Hopefully, we can organize something for cricket. It’s sport fishing, it’s the Scrub Island Invitational, it’s the North Drop Open. It’s building these events that have the potential to bring guests from abroad,” he stated.
“Some persons seem as though they want to take all the money that you spend on tourism and spend on other things, but I’ll say to you, if you don’t spend any money on building your economy, you won’t have money to do all the other things we need to do in society,” he noted.
