Even though it was carnival and “palancing” fever in Trinidad and Tobago all of last week into Mardi Gras on Tuesday February 16, there was no stopping the fever of the diva herself. We are talking of course of Beyonce who will be performing in Trinidad and the Caribbean for the first time Thursday, February 18. The event which is part of the final leg of her South American tour, will be held at the Queen’s park savannah and is being promoted by bmobile, Trinidad & Tobago. Machel Montano, who opted out of performing during Trinidad’s Carnival will open for Ms B who now holds 17 Grammy awards, the 3rd highest by a female to date.
Promotion for the event started in December under a cloud of controversy, including use of the original venue, the Queens Park Oval which was being prepared for cricket and the fact that the show was being promoted during Carnival, Trinidad’s world famous cultural showpiece. However all of this seemed to have been quelled when I arrived in Port of Spain last Thursday. Both events have taken on a life of their own, with revelers scurrying for last minute costumes and tickets for events and Beyonce fans scooping up tickets and outfits for Thursday’s show. The occasion which seemed to have taken a back seat amidst all of this was Valentines Day February 14 which fell on Dimache Gras. Sales for Valentines day related items were reportedly low in Trinidad. However promoters found creative ways to blend in the day designated to lovers into their fetes on Sunday and one young business man I spoke with said that a Beyonce ticket for his wife made for the perfect Valentines day gift since she was such a huge fan.
Last Friday the STAR poke with Graeme Suite, Communications manager of TSTT (bmobile) who was just inspecting the set up of the stage at the Savanah. “This will be one of the largest and most elaborate stages to hit the Caribbean,” Suite said. “It will be 64 feet wide, 56 feet deep and 60 feet high off the ground with an LED Video wall which will be 56 by 27 feet,” he pointed out. Suite also told us that Beyonce is expected to perform for an hour and a half with a full band and dancers, following Machel’s hour long opening act. Tickets for the event cost TT$500 (approximately US$80) for general admission, TT$1,000 for VIP (about US$165) and TT$1,600 or US$266 for VVIP.
Lime, formerly Cable and Wireless, is associated with bmobile Trinidad and is sending a contingent made up of customers from thirteen islands, to Trinidad for the Beyonce concert. LIME customers were asked to top up or text the word Beyonce to to be entered into the grand draw which was held Saturday. For the all expense paid grand prize two winners were drawn from Jamaica and one each from the 12 islands where Lime operates including Saint Lucia. The Lime draw in Saint Lucia on Saturday
revealed that Careen Vidal was the lucky winner. The lucky Lime customer and the other winners have been promised a VIP experience, including airline tickets to Trinidad courtesy LIAT, airports transfers, hotel accommodation and VIP tickets to the concert, which is the most anticipated show to hit this region.
Written By: Toni Nicholas on Feb 19th, 2010
