MONTEGO BAY, St James — Montego Bay has been designated Sumfest City. Such was the declaration in the course of the launch of the thirtieth anniversary of the musical festival, held with a celebration atmosphere here at Iberostar hotel, Wednesday night.
The DownSound Entertainment-promoted show, dubbed the best reggae festival on Earth, will run from July 16 to July 22.
“By virtue of the authority vested in me, as mayor of Montego Bay, the magical and the gorgeous city, I now declare Montego Bay, Sumfest City,” proclaimed mayor of Montego Bay Councillor Leeroy Williams.
The declaration was welcomed by, amongst others, Oral Heaven, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI).
“This yr we’re proud that our mayor has declared Montego Bay as Sumfest City. As we have fun the thirtieth anniversary of this iconic event, allow us to all come together to have fun,” Heaven said.
Considered one of the founding fathers of Reggae Sumfest Robert Russell also welcomed Mayor Williams’ declaration.
“Sumfest has been an establishment in Montego Bay. I need to thank the mayor for declaring Montego Bay, Sumfest City. I believe we must always do a petition to vary the name permanently and just call it Sumfest City, as an alternative of Montego Bay,” Russell noted.
He added that through the years the festival has provided a serious boast for Montego Bay’s economy.
“Sumfest helps everybody in Montego Bay. We put $3 billion to $4 billion into the economy in a single week and [it] stretches from the highest to the underside. Everybody [benefits] — hotels, vendors, the craft vendors, the jerk pork man, the jerk chicken vendor, the nightclubs, the restaurants, you name it. Everybody makes money at Sumfest. Sumfest is greater than Christmas in Montego Bay,” the businessman argued.
Each Heaven and Williams agreed with Russell.
“I can even say with none contradiction that Reggae Sumfest goes to assist to spice up the economy financially of Montego Bay. I can let you know the vendors are only calling the times of Reggae Sumfest to return close,” Williams said.
“We look ahead to the various many visitors who will come to Montego Bay and western Jamaica,” Heaven stated.
For his part, head of DownSound Entertainment Joe Bogdanovich lauded the sponsors and team members for his or her contribution to the festval’s success through the years.
“I’m excited this yr, the thirtieth anniversary of the best reggae/dancehall festival on earth. To me, it is a privilege to an element of this celebration, working with so many talented individuals who have contributed a lot to maintain this brand growing exponentially yr after yr,” an animated Bogdanovich stated.
Tommy Lee Sparta was amongst several artistes spotted during Wednesday night’s launch.
Among the many line-up for the 2 final nights of live performances on the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre are Minister Marion Hall, Richie Spice, Tanya Stephens, Morgan Heritage, Romain Virgo, Kabaka Pyramid, Valiant, Tommy Lee, Masicka, Chronic Law, Gyptian, Jah Vinci, and Topmann Donzlife.
