Festival battles for future funding
Tuesday 5th August 2008, 2:59PM BST.
COMPANIES in Jersey are refusing to give their financial support to the Island’s premier community and tourism event.
And unless a lead sponsor can be found for the Battle of Flowers, the parade could find itself in jeopardy in the coming years.
However, the event’s treasurer, Kevin Keen, has told the JEP that he does not believe that the fault lies with the States – who currently give the parade £145,000 a year – but with local businesses, which he says should be providing them with the extra cash they need.
For the first time last year the event had a lead sponsor in the form of XMile fuel. Following that, in November the Battle organisers hired an agency to try to find a main sponsor for next week’s parade. Despite contacting 100 firms, they had no success.
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The Battle should have ended on a high note with the centenary battle. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, the end is nigh.
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How can you expect local business’s to stump up cash for the battle when they are being stung in every other aspect of there work!
GST etc all adds up! The states really are to blame,if they would stop putting prices up left right and centre then maybe local businesses and the rest of the islanders would be happy to lend their support!
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Local firms benefit from the Battle Week so why dont they do something to pay towards the Battle?
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This is not a tourims event anymore. Who on earth wants to see a bunch of flower floats driving up and down. People’s tastes have moved on – sadly the tourism promotion hasn’t.
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This event has been jerseys bread and butter since it began. If it goes so does a lot of tourism. Retailers have made money from these tourists over all those years and GST is not an excuse, that is a separate issue. Those of you in the retail trade will know that if tourists stop coming a lot of you will not have jobs to go to. Both the States and the Chamber of Commerce should get together and sort this out between them.
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If you look up and down the streets of St Helier you will find that the only “Jersey” businesses which have survived due to the high rents being charged for retail property are those that own their premises – only two spring readily to mind! The remainder are mainly local branches of UK companies or franchises. Jersey companies which are owned by Jersey people are being taxed and paperworked out of existence and certainly cannot afford to sponsor anything on the scale of the Battle of Flowers. GST and the credit crunch, along with inflation are causing customers to think twice before undertaking any major works which impacts on Jersey tradesmen and their suppliers.Do our Ministers care? Of course they don’t and new laws such as the “Deemed Distributed Law” and 20 means 20 will be yet more nails in the coffins of the real Jersey companies and businesses. If the Chamber of Commerce were to provide more support for local businesses / industries the States would not be able to treat them so badly, instead the Chamber looks to the interests of the Finance Industry and is not grealy interested in anything else.
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The Battle of Flowers is a old tradition, in terms of format. But that does not mean it should be dispensed with as society moves on.
Why not look at new forms of fundraising, innovative and imaginative ways that also benefit local charities.
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When will those in tourism realise its dead? Numbers down year on year regardless of what % points goverment gives out on stats being up..The members of the tourism industry (ie) hotels and guest houses (whats left of them ) contribute towards the BOF and the Air Display.
Goverment have a lot to answer for in the demise of the tourism industry with promise of funding that was never forth coming, just lip service as usual. Sorry one cannot blame business not financing the BOF.Like it or not everyone is feeling the pinch and sooner rather then later not only will we be crying but goverment will not be able to get themselves out of the mess they have created for us.
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BOF is fine and dandy but tourism is down anyway,so of course its going to suffer, but it really needs updating, the formal is very tired
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R.I.P , lets face it the whole things over. Why dont they just realise that very few people are interested its never moved with the times and has become a nuisance and a financial burden. its not Rio or even Nottinghill.
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Why would business be inclined to sponsor or help pay for a festival that they cannot enjoy. For the majority of workers in Jersey the Battle of Flowers is seen as nothing more than a disruption – to getting in and out of work and parking!
If this day was turned into a Public Holiday, I would imagine there would be more support, therefore new ideas and improvements in bringing the format up-to-date while still keeping the tradition alive.
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ok so if we do away with the battle which is part of our heritage shall we do away with Battle of Britain as well and Liberation day ? after all they are more days off and only part of our heritage they are not anything to celebrate after all we have to move with the times !!
I suggest instead of moaning about BOF you get involved and see the community spirit, see how some of the youth of today get involved keeping them occupied off the streets learning new skills in float building etc and see the fun that they have doing something constructive instead of walking round town and being a pain, then all of you who think the battle is such a waste of time might change your minds !
At the end of the day do we want to give up EVERYTHING THAT IS PART OF OUR CULTURE AND MAKES US WHAT WE ARE WE HAVE LOST SO MUCH ALREADY WHY DO WE HAVE TO LOSE MORE ?
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