St Lucia to host Carnival 2022 on July 7, approves new incentives

Castries, St Lucia: The government of St Lucia has announced various incentives to host Lucian Carnival 2022. The Ministry of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information, created various plans and measures for the successful hosting of the festival.

The Carnival Planning and Management Committee (CPMC) and the Carnival Music Management Committee (CMMC) have ramped up the planning for Lucian Carnival as it is one of the island’s premier cultural activities.

One of the main points of the consultation is that both the vaccinated and unvaccinated persons are allowed to enter the Lucian Carnival. However, further guildless will be announced in the coming weeks.

Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire noted, “I am very happy to see a great return of the premier cultural showcase. The demand for the St Lucian Carnival 2022 is at its hike. We have also created several measures and incentives that help to boost Carnival Bands and Event Promoters recover from the two-year hiatus.”

Further, to get back into the normal phase and return from two-year hiatus, the Cabinet of St Lucia approved the various incentives for Event Promoters and Carnival Bands which are as follows:

• Corporation Tax for the Income Years 2020 to 2023 will include the 100% waiver;
• Import Duty on material imported by Carnival Bands and Event Promoters will also witness a 100% waiver;
• Customs fees for Saint Lucia Carnival 2022 will also be included 100% waiver; and
• There will also be a 100% exemption from Withholding Tax for artists and performers at the events for Carnival 2022.

Various measures and incentives will help the execution of St Lucian Carnival 2022 safely, which will help re-energize the entertainment industry after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The events which will be hosted in St Lucian Carnival 2022 will be the Parade of the Bands at the Beausejour Circuit and the traditional ‘jump up’ from ‘Mega J to Mega J’. 18th and 19th July will be scheduled days for the hosting of the Parade of the Bands.