WINNERS in this year’s Crop Over festival competitions walked away with more than $½ million in cash and other prizes.
There were three car prizes totalling more than $176 000, cash prizes of over $300 000 and several trophies and other gifts. Entertainers would have also received payments for their performances during what is the island’s biggest annual event.
While not giving specific details as to how much money would have been paid out in prizes or how much it would have cost the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) and its partners to produce the festival, acting corporate communication specialist, Andre Hoyte, said it was “a substantial amount”.
“The festival is quite costly to run,” he said. “You have to take into consideration that of the 39 events that we do, there are only probably about ten of them that have a paid gate receipt.
“And, of course, we have a large amount of infrastructure which is required which is quite expensive; you have entertainment to add to that. So for us, when we are looking at our budgeting we have to consider that.”
Hoyte told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY that as a result of the high cost associated with the festival, which officially ended last Monday, sponsorship would have played an “extremely important” role in ensuring that it came off, acknowledging that the NCF could not do it alone.
Some of the sponsorship came from McEnearney Quality Inc (MQI), Banks Holdings Ltd, LIME, Brydens Distribution, and the Barbados Manufacturers’ Association (BMA).
“[Over] the last three years, because of the economic downturn, we would have had to look at creative ways of getting sponsorship. So we would have gone into sponsorship relationships that we may get a percentage in cash and a percentage in kind. Sponsorship is very important for us to get some of the things completed,” explained Hoyte.
He said the NCF had “an excellent” relationship with the sponsors and “it is growing gradually”.
“We all understand the challenges that we have but the sponsorship value continues to be at a pretty good level.”
Hoyte said during the six-week period approximately $80 million would have been generated in the Barbados economy with several businesses and sponsors benefiting.
“The festival also operates not just for us [NCF] but for the entire community in terms of the business community . . . . If you think about the hotels, the tour guides, the taxi operators, think of the people in the cook shops, fast food restaurants; the increase in revenue at that time is quite a lot [and] there are some sponsors whose products are sold more during the festival,” Hoyte said, adding that Crop Over was next in line after Christmas when people did a lot of spending.
Hoyte could not give any indications as to whether the prizes would increase or decrease for next year’s festival.
“The festival is not just about us [NCF], it is about all who are involved in it, all our stakeholders. So we will have our feedback with them first and look at whether what we have done this year worked.”
