–for night of ‘mega, colourful and breathtaking’ performances

THE Department of Culture, Youth and Sport and other stakeholders are on the move to ‘spruce up’ the D’Urban Park for the upcoming celebrations of Guyana’s 51st Independence Anniversary.

National Events Director, Lt. Colonel Godfrey Bess, during a press conference on Monday told members of the media that minor rehabilitative works are being undertaken in order to have the facility ready for the celebrations.

Though it was announced that the celebrations will not be “mega” this year, Bess said that all the pavilions will be made ready for the grand night on May 25, which will usher in Independence Day.

Efforts to get all the arrangements in place, he said, have been heightened, given that Minister within the Ministry of Education, who is in charge of Culture, Youth and Sport, Ms Nicolette Henry, is optimistic about the Park being packed to capacity.

“We must be strong despite our differences,” said Minister Henry, who called on Guyanese to come together and celebrate as one people.
D’Urban Park was selected as the appropriate venue for the event, after other suggestions, such as the Stabroek Market Square, were thrown out.

“In the planning phase,” said Minister Henry, “there are always options; and sometimes things do not always go the way we want.
“We wanted this year to be different, and we wanted to bring something more creative, but we had to go back to our initial plan.”

Both officials said that the government will be looking to be very conservative this year, where spending on the event is concerned, since $300M was expended on the Golden Jubilee celebrations last year. They, however, said that “big celebrations” will be on the cards every five years.

This year’s event will feature cultural elements such as drama, dance, and indigenous performances all depicting the diversity of the country and promoting Guyana as an emerging ‘green’ state.

The traditional flagraising ceremony, followed by fireworks will also be a highlight of the night.

Bess said measures are in place to ensure that animals are not disturbed by the fireworks, and that persons are out of harm’s way.
Activities are expected to kick off from 22:30hrs, and will include 30 minutes of “mega, colourful and breathtaking” performances.

Deputy Commander of ‘A’ Division, Calvin Brutus has confirmed that security arrangements are in place, and that over 200 officers of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) are expected to be on duty that night.

“There will be no parking on Homestretch Avenue by Vlissingen Road and east of the venue; parking will be done on the eastern part of Vlissingen Road, while VIPs will be parked west of the VIP Stand,” Brutus said.

He added that a command centre will also be nearby, complemented by several police checkpoints around the area.