Barbadian international singing sensation Rihanna must be given the opportunity to perform on her home stage, and new chairman of the Barbados Board of Tourism (BTA),?Adrian Elcock, says it must happen under his tenure.
In an exclusive interview with the Weekend Nation at Hilton Barbados yesterday, Elcock stressed: “We have to have a relationship with Rihanna. Rihanna has to do a concert in Barbados at some point in time under my tenure.”
Elcock spoke against a background of what he viewed as Bajan “bashing” of the superstar, while considering the number of big names in entertainment who have been performing in Barbados recently.
The BTA chairman observed that this home-grown talented young woman who had taken the world by storm, was drawing the kind of attention to Barbados from which our tourism could be reaping the spin-off.
He however regretted the negative attitude of many Barbadians toward her.
“I don’t know why our Bajan princess Rihanna gets bashed so much . . . we have so much negative vibes towards our own princess,” Elcock complained.
He compared Rihanna’s fan base of 30 million on her Facebook page with that of 1.5 million for another international artiste, John Legend, who is scheduled to perform in Barbados on May 10.
Elcock also referred to “the type of conversation” actress and singing star Jennifer Hutson had initiated with her fans following her visit to Barbados earlier this week.
In one tweet she reportedly wrote: “I am lying here by the pool on this beautiful island . . . I had a great time in Barbados . . . the crowd was supergood.”
He said Barbados’ strategy when booking acts like Hudson, should be to access the public relations people to influence them to talk about Barbados on Facebook.
