PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – The cultural creativity of the people and the natural beauty of the terrain in Trinidad and Tobago will once again be center screen on the popular Black Entertainment Television (BET) network this Sunday, October 2, 2005 at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Actress Meagan Good hosts the one hour production which features the best of Trinidad and Tobago’s 2005 Carnival, coinciding with preparations for the 2006 edition which will soon get underway with band launchings and fetes as bandleaders present samples of their Carnival presentations.
The preparations intensify in January when the calypso tents open and culminate on Carnival Monday and Tuesday on February 27 and 28 next year. During that time, all the elements of Carnival are on show for the world – the Panorama Finals, the Calypso Monarch competition held during Dimanche Gras and the Parade of the Bands on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.
Cybelle Brown, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for BET Event Productions and BET Digital Networks, said “It is our hope that even more of our viewers will choose to visit Trinidad after this final airing on BET this weekend. It’s a beautiful show, and next year it will be even better with the evolution of this exciting partnership with Trinidad and Tobago.”
Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Tourism, Howard Chin Lee, said “We want Carnival to be known internationally. For too many years, we have seen other countries take it as theirs when really and truly, Trinidad and Tobago is the ‘Mecca’ of carnival.” He also said Soca is on the cusp of becoming an international genre and the world must be aware of its roots in Trinidad and Tobago, citing the importance of the destination’s relationship with BET.
The broadcast previously aired in August and September on both BET and BET Jazz.
