Prime Minister Honourable Allen Michael Chastanet has congratulated stakeholders on an amazing and successful Carnival 2019.
“The growth in Saint Lucia Carnival is now clearly evident. The participation level has improved considerably and we had an influx of visitors from around the world,” stated Chastanet.
“The reach of the festival locally is also expanding and we want to see this continue so that it benefits all Saint Lucians. We can do this by continuing to encourage and develop the aspects that are unique to us, including our island’s music and culture,” he added.
The Prime Minister took the opportunity to thank all who were part of the activities including the Events Company of Saint Lucia, the Carnival Bands, the Cultural Development Foundation, the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, the calypsonians, the sponsors, the volunteers, the revellers and patrons.
“I congratulate all the winners and participants,” said PM Chastanet. “I thoroughly enjoyed Panorama and the street parade, watching the traditional and newer bands. I congratulate and thank our musicians, calypsonians and soca artistes on a great showing this year and commit to continuing to support the development of our music,” he added.
“Of course we still have our challenges and we will continue to work on enhancing our cultural product, which has become a regional and international attraction. We will make the necessary adjustments to make this an event we can always be proud of, whether it is improving our music, the parade experience and other factors such as our traffic management and the upgrade of our road networks,” Chastanet said.
“What is evident is that Government’s increased investment in carnival and the Saint Lucia Summer Festival as a whole over the past three years is bearing fruit and once again we are seeing that we are on the right track. Our country is moving forward and Saint Lucia Carnival is well on its way to becoming the premier event of summer in the Caribbean.”
The Prime Minister also commended the Royal Saint Lucia Police (RSLPF) for the management of the Carnival activities, noting that there were no reports of serious incidents associated with Carnival.
“A large part of having a successful Carnival is the safety of our citizens and our visitors. I commend our police for a job well done and a relatively incident free carnival and encourage our officers to keep to that standard especially as it relates to the management of mass crowd events. Our police are so important in this regard and they must continue to work closely with event organizers and stakeholders to ensure we have safe and successful events.”
The Prime Minister took the opportunity to encourage visitors to stay on in Saint Lucia or return for more events during the summer including the upcoming Roots and Soul Festival.