Tournament Director for the ICC World Twenty20 championships Robert Bryan is urging cricket fans to come out and enjoy a truly unique Caribbean experience at the showpiece event that begins today at the Guyana national Stadium, Providence.
The opening ceremony is set to kick off at 11:30 am, and it will feature several of the region’s top performing artistes. Jamaican dancehall artiste Clifford Smith, popularly known as Mr. Vegas, his counterpart Orville Richard Burrell, better known as Shaggy and Trinidad & Tobago soca songstress Fay Ann Lyons are all set to perform. Several local artistes are also expected to make their contribution to the event.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday at the Princess Hotel, both Mr. Vegas and Shaggy promised that they will be giving the West Indian fans and by extension the world a show that will remain in their memory for a long time.
The regional superstars will also be showing that the creativity of the Caribbean region can measure up with the rest of the world.
Smith promised that he will be keeping the crowd energised and they can surely expect his usual livewire stage performances. He indicated that this will be a guarantee because he realises how much the Guyanese public loves cricket.
Burrell also guaranteed that he will be “bringing it the same way the cricketers will be bringing it”. He said that all the ingredients are in place for an electrifying show today. Bryan, meanwhile, said the aim of these activities will be to show the rest of the world a production that will be a thoroughly enjoyable show that cannot be reproduced.
He said that the time was right for the Caribbean people to come out and enjoy the best of ‘sportainment’, a coinage that blends sports and entertainment.
He quipped that should persons dare miss this event they will be missing a “truly cricketing experience”.
“Twenty20 cricket combines the best of entertainment with the product [of] cricket and in fact there is a new coinage which is ‘sportainment’. This event is driven by a well-organised ‘sportainment’ element which seeks to position the product in an atmosphere where people can have fun”, Bryan explained.
“It is characterised by the Reliance dancers, which carries the brand of a major world sponsor; it carries the music and the various elements to ensure the spectators have what is truly a unique spectator experience,” he continued.
He also urged fans to purchase the remainder of the Party Stand tickets for the event since this will allow them an up-close-and-personal feeling with the artistes.
