The Chutney Soca Monarch competition is upon us once again, during this season of the Mother of All Carnivals.
The competition will be held on Fantastic Friday at Skinner Park, San Fernando.
Are people aware of how Southex CEO and Chutney Soca Monarch promoter George Singh is able to stage the competition for free every year?
Singh said the event costs over $2 million, including prizes and staging the competition. The winners will receive $400,000 for the first prize, $75,000 for the second, $50,000 for the third and $25,000 for each contestant who does not place.
He said most of the funding comes from the government through the National Carnival Commission (NCC), but the show has secured a few corporate sponsors.
And his philosophy is: “Once we get the cost of our show covered, that we give the show back to the people.
"I think Chutney Soca Monarch is an important show, and we would like TT to have as much access to it as possible. It is funded heavily by government, and because of that, I feel like it is important to give the show back to the people, which is why it is free...
“Some of the largest events in the world have been free to the public and that is the template that we are using."Also, he said, "I would really like to see Chutney Soca Monarch, from a patron’s perspective, grow and become one of the largest events, patron-wise, in Carnival.”
[caption id="attachment_1001561" align="alignnone" width="897"] Katelin Sultan during her second-place performance at the primary school category of the Intellectual Chutney Soca Monarch competition, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain on Wednesday. Katelin will be the youngest finalist in Friday’s national Chutney Soca Monarch competition. Photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
The contest is important, he believes, because it has "spawned an industry that now involves thousands of people – producers, dancers, recording studios, and prop builders – there are a lot of people involved.”
Singh said at the finals of the competition, there are around 2,000 people working backstage alone.
The prize structure is based "solely on the amount of money that is collected, so we were able to at least manage the budget.
"When we started the season, we basically gave people an idea of what we’re proposing and I made pitches to the government and NCC. Based on what is allocated, we then make a decision as to what the final prize structure will be.”
In January, Singh said in a release he was hoping for the return of pre-covid days, with first prize being $500,000, $100,000 for second, $75,000 for third and $35,000 for each contestant.
On the future of state sponsorship for competitions like these, Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts Randall Mitchell said, “The State will continue to support its cultural heritage assets including calypso, kalinda/stick fighting, kiddies' Carnival, Canboulay, ole mas, chutney, tassa, among other examples of our cultural heritage in the same way other countries do, financially and otherwise.”
Over the years, Singh said
