Browne for opening up contest

THE TWO SOCA competitions have been sacred to Barbadian acts for 40 years, but a new paradigm could be on the horizon.
While chief executive officer of the National Cultural Foundation (NCF), Cranston Browne, has stated clearly that the Foundation had not been approached about including artistes from the region in the Party Monarch and Sweet Soca competitions, he said it is “something that we could look at”.
Browne said a regional soca competition was a “good idea”, but it was a show that should be produced by a private sector entity.
“In all the islands, Trinidad and thing, there is a private promoter. So I would welcome it, but I think it should be done through a private promoter,” Browne said.
While he sees any possible regional soca competition held in Barbados as separate and distinct from the Party Monarch competition, which started in 1995, and the newer Sweet Soca competition from 2009, Browne said there was room for collaboration.