A grand gospel concert in Barbados later this month is set to attract visitors from across the Caribbean, potentially boosting tourism. The event, featuring international and regional artistess, aims to inspire attendees and promote peace in the face of recent crime concerns.
Gospel recording artiste and pastor of Hope Church, John Yarde, pledged that the I Believe – The Concert on January 26 will be a powerful start to the new year, aiming to uplift attendees and encourage them to pursue their dreams and aspirations for 2025.
“The purpose and the mission is to inspire Bajans to believe God and to trust him for their lives, dreams, visions, aspirations, and plans,” he said.
The concert’s theme centres on the power of music to bring people together. Pastor Yarde explained: “There are very few things that gather people and influence them all at the same time, sports happens to be one of those things and music is also one of those things that gather people by the masses, where there’s a shared and common interest.”
Sharianne Mon, one of the scheduled performers, expressed her excitement about being part of an impactful event: “I love starting the year with intentionality and making sure that you set the right standard for yourself. So I think it’s a really good focus and a good opportunity to really just be a part of the event.”
The concert will be headlined by Nigerian international gospel sensation Tim Godfrey, known for hits like Nara, with performances from regional gospel favourite Sherwin Gardner.
The event will also feature performances by Pastor Yarde, Neesha Woodz and Sherry Ann Maughan.
Pastor Yarde noted that the event has already sparked interest across the region: “The Antiguans are planning to come to Barbados next week for the event. I’ve had interest from persons from Grenada who’ve expressed their desire to be here, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.”
The congregation leader highlighted the contribution the concert will be making to tourism: “Gospel or rather musical tourism and that the Christian community also has a big voice where we do buy tickets and travel across the region. We do stay in hotels. We also purchase insurance and rent vehicles.
“And so there is much interest within the region. And it’s not always easy to capture what that looks like, but it’s something we will put our minds to figure out how can we show that there not only is representation through the artistes, but through patrons who look to come to Barbados.”
So far the event has gained sponsorship from Pine Hill Dairy, Western Wholesale and Blue Waters, Roberts Manufacturing and the National Peace Programme. Inter-Caribbean Airways will also sponsor the concert with a ticket giveaway.
Deputy Director of the peace programme, Tonya Stephen, expressed her excitement to be part of an initiative that is Christian-focused and promotes peace.
“We want to do our part and we want to implement any measures or strategies that would prevent crime,” she said. “Unfortunately, there have been three homicides for the year but we believe that there is room to do what we can do as a society, as a community, to help in that fight against crime.”
Pastor Yarde also pledged the church’s efforts to combat the scourge of crime in the country: “We look forward to any opportunities that we can position ourselves to serve. We are interested in the whole man. A part of that is his faith, another part of that is his well-being, his safety, whether it be mental, emotional, just his general safety and wholeness.”
He continued: “We are not only thankful for the partnership, but thankful for the future and projected opportunities to lend our service as a community and institution to the fight against crime.”
The Hope Church leader also revealed that there is an ongoing conversation about incorporating such events into national cultural calendars, especially during major festivals like Crop Over.
“Last year, in the last quarter, myself and a few others, the minister, chairman and CEO brought us into a meeting to have conversations as to how can we have more wholesome, inspirational events within the calendar, even exploring what can be done even within the Crop Over season.”
He said he hoped that with an excellent production this year the church can gain more support from corporate Barbados to host the event again next year.
(LG)
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