CHIEF SECRETARY Farley Augustine says the THA has spent $3 million so far to host this year’s Tobago Jazz Experience: The Return.

The Jazz Experience, the island’s signature entertainment event, begins on Thursday with a novel addition, a gospel night titled, the Holy Land Experience, at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex.

On Saturday, the action shifts to the Speyside Recreation Ground for Speyside Jazz and on Sunday, it’s the international night featuring headliners, American R&B group Boyz II Men at the Parade Grounds, Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet.

At the post executive council news conference on Wednesday, Augustine said, “In terms of cost, I can tell you that we are using a slightly different model in terms of our expenditure than what was used for Carnival, last year, in that we have only advanced, to date, $3 million to the (Tobago) Festivals Commission to treat with all of their initial costs.”

He said the THA expected that ticket sales would cover a substantial part of the bills “and then we will give the clearance on the backing.”

“But I will let you know that, to date, for the festival that starts (Thursday), our spend, to date, will be in the region of $3 million to facilitate what we have so far.”

Saying ticket sales were at 60 per cent last week, Augustine said, as of Wednesday, he had not received an update.

But he told reporters, “Certainly, we are expecting a bumper turnout at all of our venues.”

Augustine said some of the artistes performing in this year’s event were actually contracted since 2020, before the covid19 pandemic.

“Having it this year was a measure of honouring those contractual obligations that were previously entered into.”

But he said the event would be revamped going forward to facilitate greater private sector involvement.

“I have been very vociferous in the past and even at present about the jazz festival and whether it makes sense, the way it is structured. I could give a firm commitment that the jazz festival as we have it this year is the last of it as it is now.

“There will be a return to the drawing board. In fact, we have already gone back to the drawing board. And we are going to revisit how it is done, even question if it should be done.

“But we are not going to have jazz as we have had it over the previous years. There will be some shifts. There must be done shifts so that it will make sense and cents.”

Augustine said the THA was looking to partner with private promoters to host the festival.

“There is no reason why the THA has to 100 per cent run a jazz festival. We can partner and have other prime promoters in the space bid and take up some of the events and we support them so that we can transition that into a privately-run festival as opposed to a government-run festival. That is the only direction we will be heading in thereafter.”

Earlier in the briefing, Augustine said he attended rehearsals for Thursday’s show at Shaw Park, featuring American gospel artistes Todd Dulaney, Jonathan Nelson and others.

The post Chief Sec: $3m sp

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