Govt announces plan to move local entertainment industry to int’l levels

– to use Cricket Carnival as platform to promote Guyanese talents

President Dr Irfaan Ali has charged Guyanese artistes and entertainers to work together and come up with a unique package for the ‘Guyana Night’ at the upcoming Cricket Carnival, which will in turn be used as a conduit to get local talents into the regional and international entertainment scene.
On Wednesday, President Ali hosted an interactive session at State House with local performers who participated at the 56th Independence Anniversary Flag Raising Ceremony in Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast last week.

The Head of State said his Government wants to give them and other Guyanese entertainers a larger platform to display their talents. Hence, he noted that the upcoming Cricket Carnival – a packed two weeks of entertainment that will run alongside the 2022 CPL tournament here later this year – will have a dedicated event for local artistes, dubbed the ‘Guyana Night’.
“I want you guys to sit down and come up with a world-class programme. You’ll come up with the budget; you’ll come up with the best songs, the best beat. You’ll come up with the best anybody has ever seen at this Guyana Night… What I want is a stage that sells Guyana, promotes Guyana, promotes you and advances your careers,” the President stated.
For that event, Government will set aside $10 million for the production, and will also look to incorporate the Private Sector. The revenue that is garnered from this event, the President said, will go back to the performers and the industry.
He said, “We must have the type of talent that we could go on a Regional Night and we can dominate. We’re not going as a sideshow. We are not going as an add-on, we must go there to blow people’s minds with our performance. That is the type of attitude we will develop.”
According to the Head of State, once this is done right, the ‘Guyana Night’ performances will be packaged and sent to every network across the Caribbean to be broadcast.

“We’re gonna send this across every single network in the region, and then we are going to build this unique ‘One Guyana’ platform, and we’re going to work ongoing in the Diaspora. We’re gonna work with the Diaspora in taking this platform to London, taking this platform to the US, taking this platform to Toronto, taking it to Miami, and taking it to the Caribbean. But the platform must be so powerful that people want it,” he asserted.
President Ali said he wants to build a unique Guyanese entertainment product. To this end, he announced during Wednesday’s engagement the development of an action plan that would target every category of the local entertainment industry and unearth talent nationwide.
Already, he noted that he has been lobbying regional Heads and artistes to help promote local talents. This includes an exchange programme with Barbados.
“Over the weekend, I was in Barbados for one day to have some meetings with Prime Minister [Mia] Mottley, and I said to her, ‘I would like us to have an artiste exchange. ‘You give me an opportunity to put my artiste on your stage at Crop Over or any national event, and I’ll give you an opportunity to put your artiste on my stage’. And it was an overwhelming response from her. I believe that once you get an opportunity to go on a stage where you have thousands of tourists at Crop Over, it will give you the opportunity you need [to propel to higher heights],” the President posited.
He further disclosed that talks were held with soca sensation Machel Montano to also assist with taking Guyanese artistes on the international stage. The Government is working on getting cruise liners to also include local performers in their entertainment programme, he added.
Moreover, among the gamut of ideas the Government is mulling is one to push the entertainment sector to the next level is investing in the gaps in the industry, to ensure that persons from all genres can thrive, and a special initiative with the Private Sector to raise resources for priority areas.
“All of this is done because we believe strongly in what you have,” President Ali asserted.
As such, he charged the performers to see their importance in promoting social cohesion, while explaining that they will have critical parts to play in accelerating the ‘One Guyana’ agenda.
During Wednesday’s engagement, after the conversation with the performers, President Ali came up with several initiatives aimed at addressing some of the concerns that were raised. He said that the Government will identify a space in every region of Guyana for the development of the dance industry, as well as arts and culture.
“We are going to find a building or space in every single region, and we are going to designate it for that… We’re going to put security there, we’re going to ensure that there are some basic facilities there, so we can develop regional talent,” he said.
The President also proposed for there to be a summer dance programme instituted in every region of the country to target people from all facets of society.
In addition to this, President Ali announced that a National School Choir Championship will be launched in August, and will be spearheaded by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
For the technicians specifically, the President noted that he will help to find an institute or an organisation to execute training programmes for engineers and technicians in the industry, especially for sound. He added that the Government is supposed to receive US$50,000 for the training of technicians in the industry.
“One of the things that we can never fix in this country is sound. Every stage you go on is microphone feedback, and it annoys me. So, we have to fix it,” he posited.
For the vocal artists, the Government will support a consortium of studios that will give access to locals to record and produce their music.