ANXIOUS REVELLERS who have been waiting for more than a year to once again fete on the streets of Kingston just might have their day come October.

With proposals now on the table to usher in a phased reopening of the entertainment industry, it seems like it’s all systems go for the annual road march scheduled for October 25.

Kamal Bankay, chairman of the Carnival in Jamaica stakeholders committee, told The Sunday Gleaner that the road march, which was originally scheduled for April 19, should go ahead as planned in a few months following approval of a number of proposed health and safety protocols.

“The economic recovery task force received a presentation from the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport about recommendations for the reopening of the entertainment industry. The proposals that were made are now being deliberated and looked at by the rest of the task force and the Ministry of Health and we await their feedback,” said Bankay, not wanting to give specific details on the proposals submitted. “I would rather wait until the proposals are approved before speaking on them but obviously sanitisation, health and safety protocols will be increased significantly,” he shared.

Bankay also mentioned that there were recommendations for a regulated capacity for restaurants, nightclubs and hotspots. Based on the recommendations, the reopening is supposed to take place in three stages. If they are accepted, stakeholders will see the industry return to some form of ‘normalcy’ by October.

For Bacchanal Jamaica this would mean the hosting of its trademark events leading up to the road march.

“In terms of our actual plans, nothing has changed since we announced the date of the rescheduled carnival week. All our events that we would usually do pre-carnival week, we’ll still be doing, so Rum For Breakfast is still on, as well as Bacchanal Premium and Bacchanal Jouvert,” said Michael Ammar Jr, director of Bacchanal Jamaica.

Consultations are on in earnest for roach march 2020. Andrew Bellamy, chief executive officer of Xaymaca International, says his band has already put together a plan to execute a safe 2020 road march experience.

“The rescheduled Carnival in Jamaica date remains on for October 25. As a private organisation, while we are eager to provide an unforgettable and safe experience to our masqueraders, we are guided by the Government of Jamaica during these unusual times brought on by COVID-19. [Following] recent indicators, provided through the reopening of most sectors, including tourism (for which Carnival is classified under), we have a detailed plan of action that will be executed to meet the deadline for our Xaymaca Road Experience,” Bellamy said.

WORK TOGETHER

Not only is safety paramount for a successful road march, but it is important that all bands work together to generate procedures.

“The safety of our masqueraders, support teams, staff and onlookers is of greatest importance to us at Xaymaca, and as such, we are working closely with Xodus and Bacchanal to develop standard protocols that we can collectively implement and execute to provide a healthy and fun experience for all. We are presently going through the ‘brainstorming’ phase of what the actual road march experience could look like and will be presenting a plan to the Government very shortly to ensure we have a fulsome solution that the Ministry of Health can endorse,” said Bellamy.

He told The Sunday Gleaner that a part of his band’s plans is the issuing of masks.

“We are all aware that the coronavirus is a contagious respiratory illness which can be easily shared through spit, droplets and even sneezing, so, without a doubt, we will be providing for all our masqueraders and staff a Xaymacan mask and encouraging everyone to wear them throughout the day.”

Similarly, Bacchanal Jamaica is prepared for the new challenges presented by COVID-19.

“Certainly at Bacchanal Jamaica, we have been contingency preparing since February even before COVID-19 got to our shores because we were watching what was happening in China and Europe and thinking ahead. So at Carnival and all our other events leading up to road march day, we will be taking the maximum precautions in terms of sanitisation stations, masks, temperature checks, etc,” said Ammar Jr.

Agility has also been key for the bands as they consider routes, rest stops and other amenities.

“All options are being considered. However, it’s still early to finalise full details regarding Carnival in October given that week in, week out we learn more expert information about flattening the curve, combating and surviving with COVID-19. As such, we are planning for all scenarios,” said Bellamy. “We are exploring the healthiest routes or an exclusive location to host the road march, we are calculating best square footage spacing needed between trucks, masqueraders and security staff to have a comfortable and safe experience, we are looking into installing specially designed screens for our mobile bars to prevent transmission, along with so many other scenarios and solutions.”

“Whatever it is that needs to be done to make Carnival safer for the participants, will be done. Now, all we’re doing is waiting on that final signal to ramp up promotions,” said Ammar Jr.

Bellamy went on to say that with COVID-19 affecting all tourism industries across the globe, he anticipates that international participation in Carnival 2020 will be significantly less. He, however, remains optimistic that despite some loss expected, partnerships between the bands and the various ministries can lead to a favourable outcome for all.