The International Soca Monarch competition has been cancelled this year, in what is supposed to be the ‘Mother of All Carnivals.’
According to the Caribbean Prestige Foundation, the organisation behind the show, they decided to cancel the event after Government refused their request for funding.
Director Geoffrey Wharton-Lake, in an interview with media, did not reveal how much that funding request was, but maintained “The 2023 edition of the Soca Monarch is definitely off,” as it was not financially sustainable.”
However, Tourism, Culture and the Arts minister, Randall Mitchell, revealed to GML that the organisers wanted $10 million to run Soca Monarch.
He said: “It is unconscionable for the Government to underwrite the full cost of an event that is privately owned.”
Wharton-Lake had stated that it would have cost between $5 and $6 million to put on this year’s event.
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