Did the International Music and Food Fest Turn a Profit?
The first-ever Belize International Music and Food Festival was held in San Pedro on the weekend of August first. According to Minister of Tourism Anthony Mahler, the event drew as many as eight thousand concertgoers during the two nights that it was held. He also says that the festival created significant economic activity for the islands of Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker. But, when asked if the concert was profitable, based on attendance, the minister became somewhat disagreeable. Here’s that exchange with our colleague in the media.
Reporter
“So far we’ve only heard preliminary reports about it. Can you give us a more in-depth (breakdown), how many tickets were sold, what was the break even point, if we made any profit?”
Anthony Mahler
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism
“I’ve been out of the country for the last week or so, so we should get a report back early this week to finalize everything. So that’s what I am waiting on, but from all accounts that we’ve gotten from off the island, it was a huge success. The economy of San Pedro and to a certain extent, Caye Caulker, got a boost and restaurants were filled, hotels were filled, golf carts were rented out, bars were filled and both nights had a sizeable crowd.”
Reporter
“But not a profitable crowd because there was still a large gap in the stadium. The stadium was never filled.”
Anthony Mahler
“Were you there?”
Reporter
“Yes, I was.”
Anthony Mahler
“No, the stadium was filled.”
Reporter
“No, it wasn’t.”
Anthony Mahler
“No, I noh wahn argue with you. You always wahn come and argue with me… No, I noh wahn relax. I’m tired of this line of questioning. Channel Seven has a problem because they didn’t get ads. If you are going to cut and paste, if you are going to cut and paste something and create news that isn’t there then I wahn deal with unu like this. When unu start do objective news reporting then I wahn deal with unu with some kinda…
Reporter
“Sir, ads isn’t on my pay scale.”
Anthony Mahler
“I noh wahn hyah bout your pay scale, noh todeh. I noh wahn hyah bout your pay scale. You’ve used that on me… Listen to me, both nights had over four thousand people and for an event like that, that was sizeable.”
Reporter
“Will the accounting be made public or not?”
Anthony Mahler
“Yes, it will.”
