A spectacular showcase featuring a never-before-seen 300-drum ensemble will be one of the main highlights of this year’s Independence Grand Gala, which will be held at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday, August 6.
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange noted that the annual Independence Day festivities – which epitomise its name in every way – will be even grander for this year’s celebration of Jamaica’s diamond jubilee.
“Over 3,000 performers will be inside the National Stadium, drawn from community groups, dance theatre companies, the JDF, JCF and uniformed youth groups. It is going to be a wonderful package,” an animated Grange shared during an interview after the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen coronation show at the Indoor Sports Centre last Monday.
She added, “We always get commended for the Grand Gala. And as the governor general said to me the last time, ‘I don’t know how you are going to top this.’ Well, we are planning to top what we have done in the past, and one of the highlights will be a spectacular show which will include 300 drums. It’s the first time [in] the Caribbean that anyone is going to see such a spectacle,” an immensely pleased Grange said.
Projections are that 30,000 spectators will be present inside the National Stadium on Saturday for the larger-than-life cultural showcase, which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Some special guest performers include Beenie Man, Barrington Levy, Teejay, Toni-Ann Singh, Glacia Robinson, and Tessanne Chin.
