With lessons learned, gov’t pushing for bigger cricket carnival next year

From packed cricket matches at the National Stadium, Providence to carnival events all across the country, Guyana pulled off the first ever Cricket Carnival locally.

And Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson said that bigger,  better festivities are promised next year with the government hoping to spend the next few weeks assessing the successes and shortcomings of the just-concluded inaugural event

“We set an ambitious target that we wanna become the events capital of the Caribbean and there is still a lot for us to do but we’re off to a great start,” Ramson said at the sidelines of the cricket carnival road parade on Sunday.

According to him, the carnival events were a great success evidenced by the show of support from locals and foreigners alike. He noted too that there was a big diaspora presence in the country for the cricket carnival period.

These statements aren’t unfounded. According to information released by the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), the port experienced an increase of 90 per cent in passenger arrivals for September 2022 when compared to September 2021.

During the month the airport processed 31,050 arriving international passengers- the highest number of passengers arrivals for the month of September.

Numbers aside, Ramson explained that the sheer camaraderie and togetherness of people on display at the events evidenced how much people welcomed the events.

And so, he posited that the cricket carnival- an innovative mix of two beloved Guyanese and Caribbean events- was “an amazing thing for the country”.

Even so, there is much room for improvement.

According to the minister, there is space for private sector players and the government to collaborate in more efficient ways to guarantee that people enjoy events more seamlessly.

“There are lots of lessons that we are learning.

“We have to do review sessions on every event (and say that) there are areas that we have to improve on,” he noted.

This is particularly important given that Guyana will once again host the finals of the Caribbean Premiere League (CPL) next year. While performing host duties, the country will again seek to execute another cricket carnival.