One of the biggest Carnival pan events will take place on February 16 featuring 31 steelbands performing in the Medium and Large band semifinals at the bpTT Savannah Party.
Under the theme, Steelpan Fuh So! Unleash D' Power! 15 large and 16 medium bands will compete at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain, from 1 pm. First to play in the medium category will be the Pandemonium Steel Orchestra from Norfolk Street, Belmont, while later in the evening, Shell Invaders of Tragarete Road, Port of Spain, will lead off the large band segment.
Pan Trinbago’s president Beverley Ramsey-Moore is anticipating colossal numbers at the event, judging by the enormous crowds which attended the panyard preliminaries.
She said, “For example, in the north, I am sure we had a little over 20,000 (people).”
Ramsey-Moore said the crowds were so large some bands used large screens, set up outside, so those unable to enter the panyards could view the performance.
This happened at panyards like Massy Trinidad All Stars on Duke Street and bp Renegades, Renegades Way, Charlotte Street.
Not only is the organisation seeing increased numbers at events but also increased sponsorship. National Flour Mills (NFM) gave Pan Trinbago a financial boost to offset the costs of Panorama 2025, the company said in a Facebook post on February 5.
Ramsey-Moore credits the increased sponsorship to the steady work done by her administration.
“I must say sponsors have been coming in and we now have steelband ambassadors, where we have major sponsors who are not only contributing to the bands through Panorama but have pledged to contribute to all of our development programmes throughout the year.
“We have bpTT, as usual, coming in as a steelpan ambassador, NGC as a steelpan ambassador, TTT as a steelpan ambassador and all those other sponsors would have purchased the various packages whether it is gold, silver or platinum.
“We are seeing a significant increase in sponsorship for this year’s event,” she said.
In a phone interview on February 11, she said she hoped this would result in bigger prizes for the bands.
“These bands are deserving of much more than $1 million, knowing the work that we put in with a large band with 125 players. Getting on stage and delivering the kind of product is worth more than that.
“There is a conversation and I am hoping that conversion will bring about a surprise. I am looking forward to that surprise where some announcement can be made where we can have more than a million dollars for the first prize.
“I am looking forward to that announcement. The conversation is happening.”
[caption id="attachment_1138904" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Shell Invaders will perform first for judges in the large band category on February 16 at the Queen's Park Savannah. - File photo[/caption]
This year’s winning large band will receive $1 million and the winning medium band will receive $600,000.
However, Ramsey-Moore hopes the prize money could be increased to $1 million for the medium band, $2 million for the
