“This was going to be the best Carnival we’ve ever had!” proclaimed Prime Minister Allen Chastanet, during an appearance on Blazin FM earlier this week. In a statement on March 17, the government announced that the festival would not take place this year. They stated that several consultations were held with representatives of the carnival community, taking into account the economic and public health implications associated with the spread and containment of COVID-19. The government, while recognizing the cultural and economic importance of the festival, decided that it would be in the “best national interest” if the event was not held.
During this week’s radio interview Chastanet disclosed that government is in discussions with individuals in the creative industry “about something that we can potentially do later this summer and also something that we can do at the end of the year.” He did not provide any further details but had a message for all persons in the creative industry: “I know the pain everybody’s going through. You know why? Because this was going to be the best Carnival we’ve ever had! We all know that.
“So there’s nothing worse than having a taste in your mouth and everything was sold out, everything was ready to go. And so, understand that the emotion that some people have thrown at me, I get it. I understand, I’m not upset in any way, I get it,” said Chastanet.
However at the same time, the prime minister said, there needs to be some level of appreciation. “I can’t invent carnival, I can’t turn the clock back, I can’t make that happen to find something that’s going to substitute that in other ways.” He reminded Saint Lucians that the government is currently “stretched” in many areas including healthcare, security, education and social stabilization.
“We are doing everything we possibly can do,” he assured. “The creative industries are important, it will come back. The level of support I gave it pre-COVID showed us that we were in the right direction and we will continue going. But I miss it as much as everybody else does, I can assure you of that.”
In the government’s statement in March, they also indicated that they would continue to monitor the global and domestic situation, “with a view to staging alternate events later in 2020 which might create economic opportunities for affected carnival producers.”
