Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe said yesterday he is hopeful the Bahamian people will still get a return on the $650,000 the Ministry of Tourism spent to sponsor the Caribbean Muzik Festival, which was postponed over the weekend.

"Whenever it is, it still has to be held in a short period of time before the end of the year," Wilchcombe told The Nassau Guardian.

The Ministry of Tourism is the event's host sponsor. Wilchcombe said the organizers are obligated to return the sponsorship money if the event is not held. Organizers announced the event's postponement late Friday "due to insurmountable logistical difficulties". They did not explain what those difficulties were, and Wilchcombe said yesterday he did not know.

He said he is scheduled to meet the organizers today.

"The truth is, the obligation has to be fulfilled," Wilchcombe said.

Two of the planned events took place on Wednesday and Thursday, including a ceremony in Rawson Square commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Nassau Accord. The Soweto Gospel Choir performed during the event, which was free to the public.

A dancehall music night was set to take place at Arawak Cay on Friday night, and major artists were due to perform on Saturday night at the carnival site at the sports center. Those weekend events did not happen.

In their statement on Friday, the festival's organizers assured the public that "full restitution will be made on ticket purchases and vendors will be refunded fees paid and all contractual obligations will be met".

On Saturday, Desmond Edwards, a festival director, could not say whether vendors would be reimbursed for food and other goods they purchased in preparation for the festival.

Edwards also said, "All the artists have been paid".

He did not explain what specifically led to the postponement of the main festival events and he also could not say when the festival will be held. Edwards said organizers were preparing another statement on the matter, but that never came.

In their statement on Friday, the organizers said, "As soon as discussions are concluded with all strategic and interested partners, another date for the resumption of the festival will be announced."

They also assured that "Caribbean Muzik Festival will resume under more favorable conditions."

Wilchcombe said Alfred Sears, who is also a festival director, and others approached the government more than a year and a half ago about the event. The minister said he was surprised to learn of the postponement on Friday.

"I do suspect they are still working on staging the event, but I suppose they are trying to work out the logistical difficulties to ensure that they can fulfill their obligations," he said. "I think that it will come off. I think that they appreciate their obligations and the agreement obviously [is] if you don't fulfill you have to return the tax dollars. That's a part of agreements we make from time to time to stage major events.

"The truth is we believe that there is a wonderful opportunity to create another festival in the slowest period of the year and that's all intended to of course boost tourism... So the proposal was put to us based on that and since early last year we began discussions.

"I think the organizers are fully aware of their obligations, and I have obviously very strong views that they will have their difficulties worked out and be able to complete, and certainly we have a lot of confidence in Alfred Sears, a former colleague, a distinguished gentleman and a member of the Caribbean Muzik Festival and all of those individuals who work on the festival."

Wilchcombe said he did not think there is a timeframe in the ministry's contract that stipulates the absolute latest period during which the event must be held before the money is returned.

Under the theme "Uniting the world with music", the festival promised to feature music genres such as soca, calypso, dancehall, Junkanoo, rake 'n scrape, bacchanal and street dancing. The festival has not taken place in years.

In a recent statement, Michael Tomlinson, chairman and CEO of Caribbean Music Festival (2000) Ltd., said, "We are glad to be back in The Bahamas."

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian