Bahamian-owned C3 Co. Ltd. was selected from six Bahamian and foreign bidders to erect the bleachers for more than 10,000 people. Under their plan, when the five-year contract expires the government will own the bleachers.
C3 will also provide and handle ticket sales for the parades during the five-year period.
In announcing the deal on Thursday, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Neville Wisdom would not explain how the deal works.
When asked why C3 decided to “donate” the bleachers, the minister did not answer the question. Instead he went on to describe the ministry’s objective of developing the cultural event and said seating is not a major issue in planning the parade.
The Guardian contacted Cristin Cleare, who described himself as a “shareholder” of C3, and asked him for answers.
He confirmed that C3 would erect and provide bleachers for the three parades for the next five years and the bleachers would become the government’s property at a “minimal” cost.
“We are handling all of the ticketing, in which we plan to get a revenue from the ticketing. At the end of each year we will give the government a percentage of our proceeds. So, we will share the revenues from the ticketing,” he said.
The company also sees the contractual agreement as a promotional strategy and a way to contribute to the culture industry.
“I have been studying bleacher-building for some time now, at concerts and other venues, and after seeing what transpired last year (and) knowing the cost of bleachers I figured why not a Bahamian company take advantage of providing that service. Not just for the government, but for Junkanoo on the whole,” Mr. Cleare said.
Mr. Wisdom came under heavy criticism for his handling of last year’s parades, particularly for renting bleachers for $1 million from a Canadian company and paying $125,000 to Tropical Shipping in trasnportation charges.
The criticisms, however, did not keep Bahamians away from Bay Street to watch the parades. In the end, the ministry received mixed reviews. While some praised it for providing a safe environment and “state-of-the-art” seating, others found it hard to get over the $1 million-hump.
The ministry intends to recreate a family-oriented atmosphere for next month’s parades, Mr. Wisdom said at a press briefing on Thursday.
“Again comfort, safety and the creation of a family-type atmosphere have been our major initiative. In the interest of comfort and safety, every effort will be taken to ensure that Bahamians will be able to attend with their families any of the parades, safe and secure,” he said.
Once completed, the aluminum bleachers will be similar to those rented last year. This year, there will be six bleachers in Parliament Square, rather than five.
Ticket prices for that area will be “significantly” reduced, promised Mr. Wisdom.
Junkanoo groups’ drummers can showcase their skills through a new category called “B-52 Drum Section,” for a $2,000 prize.
The ministry has also discontinued float parades that were introduced as pre-judging events for last year’s Junkanoo parades.
This year, the minister announced that pre-judging would instead be held under tents, perched at the old Straw Market site on Bay Street.
Mr. Wisdom requested that the media not make the parades a controversial issue. Instead, he said sponsorship, which is lacking, must top the agenda.
“The major challenge in Junkanoo today is not the seating challenge… The challenge is that Junkanoo continues to evolve into a bigger and bigger event and it continues to evolve nationally,” he said. “What has happened is that sponsorship of the event is what is lacking.”
Proving his point, Mr. Wisdom said the government paid $350,000 in seed money to major Junkanoo groups competing this year. That sum is included in the $800,000 in prize money.
Generating that money annually, he said, “is the real challenge.”
By Khashan Poitier, The Nassau Guardian
