Wiltshire accepts responsibility for Dimanche Gras disaster

First apologising, he said, “I truly and honestly apologise to everyone who trusted and believed in me and my vision for the ‘Dimanche Gras Icons’, and who I unfortunately disappointed and let down. I cannot apologise enough for the unfortunate mishaps that transpired. My apologies also go out to the honorees, the Calypso Monarch contestants, all of the guest performers, the hard working people of and the board of the NCC, the Minister of Culture, the people of Trinidad and Tobago, the fans of our rich and vibrant culture, again, my humblest apologies to all and in particular the family, friends and fans of all of the Icons. I, as the producer of this year’s show, I take full responsibility for all the technical glitches that transpired.” Wiltshire, who said he had three weeks to produce the show, said initially they were completely puzzled as to the reason for the malfunctions. But after carefully analysing everything that transpired, they came to the realisation that the “main culprit” in the entire fiasco was an unexpected, massive shower with high winds, that came crashing down on the venue at approximately 4.30 pm, mere hours before the start of the event. He said, “At that time we gave priority to covering all the equipment on stage, which was totally at the mercy of the elements.

Unfortunately, the Disc Jockey & Video playback equipment, which seemed perfectly safe in the covered Grand Stand, were soaked by blowing rain, which at one point was blowing in an almost horizontal direction, even uprooting and blowing over one of the securely anchored partitions, screening the eastern ramp to the stage.” He added, “After the shower, all the equipment was dried off and tested. At the time everything worked fine, but we were unaware that water had already seeped into the Disc Jockeys laptop computer and some of the video playback equipment, which eventually started malfunctioning later in the evening, and for the most part, creating the embarrassing domino effect of mishaps that unfolded.

Eventually the computer in question crashed completely. It was only when it was opened up for repair, the reason was discovered. I cannot apologise enough for what transpired.” For the last few days, NCC Chairman De Silva has been making the rounds in the media, apologising for the disaster that was the Dimanche Gras 2017. He even placed ads in the dailies noting the comments and complaints expressed by the public on the shortcomings in the show, and took full responsibility for the series of glitches that adversely affected the show and caused it to go longer than planned.

De Silva also expressed his regret that adequate corrective protocols were not in place to deal immediately with the problems once they arose, but gave the assurance that the NCC will have in place a more robust back-up plan in the future.