00:00Promise made, promise delivered. That was the mantra repeated by Culture Minister Michelle Benjamin as she reflected on the 2026
00:09Carnival season.
00:10So as we promised, it was a bumper Carnival. And our team, you're going to love this, I think the
00:16government of Chindal and Tobago, we delivered.
00:18According to the minister, the season generated approximately 2,000 jobs spanning event production, vending, security and hospitality.
00:27Total government investment of $137 million well spent. Visitors' projections of $37,000 we have reached and reports coming in
00:39may have surpassed this.
00:41Hotels filled over 100% occupancy and persons could not find space in Port of Spain.
00:48She pointed to the Flavor Village as the heartbeat of this year's celebrations, attracting an estimated 200,000 patrons over
00:57its run.
00:58The event is scheduled to close on February 28th.
01:02Flavor became an overwhelming hum of families, young people and elders. Something this government pledged to give to this country.
01:10We return the Carnival to you.
01:12Benjamin said many RTs saw additional bookings due to Flavor, but still there was little this new administration could have
01:20done on short notice.
01:22Sometimes we have no choice, especially for the first year in doing things, more than to execute as we would
01:27have met on the books.
01:28Because when you try to institute any sort of change, which I would have tried in this Carnival, to further
01:34give it back to the people, you will see certain pushback.
01:37And pushback from opposition members that know what they have left in train is an eating frenzy from their friend
01:43and family.
01:44Among the standout nights, Marshall Friday drew a crowd of 20,000 patrons, the highest attendance figure for the season.
01:51The second largest turnout, 13,000, came out for Patrice Roberts' performance.
01:58Despite the strong numbers, the minister admitted not all vendors could be accommodated.
02:04All vendors with over 411 vendors' applications.
02:09Sadly, we could not have granted all.
02:12What we are doing is we're looking at the space at the savannah to see how many vendors we could
02:17cater for in 2027.
02:18This year we could only accommodate 211 vendors and we are looking to increase that.
02:26And with regards to how these vendors are chosen, we want to advertise earlier this year so persons have an
02:33open opportunity with regards to applying.
02:36Benjamin says planning for Carnival 2027 begins as early as tomorrow,
02:41adding that the overwhelming feedback from patrons centered on security and the return of a safe, family-friendly atmosphere.
02:50Arvishita Mori, Rupnerai, TV6 News.
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