Politicians Agree: Nightlife Needs Work
During the 10.5 hour debate on gaming in the House of Assembly, one subject caused a rare occurrence – various MPs spanning the three political parties all agreed on one subject.
As tourism is often mentioned as the main need to bring in gaming, it was an often mentioned subject during the debate. Numerous MPs mentioned our waning levels of entertainment, and some praised the talent of Bermudian entertainers.
The debate saw MPs from the BDA, PLP and UBP all saying similar things on the topic, with not one MP who mentioned the topic differing significantly in opinion.
Premier Dr Brown was the first speaker and the first to bring it up, using the term “entertainment challenges“. The Premier went on to say:
Bermuda formerly featured a higher level of entertainment and other evening activities. The drop in evening activities is a lost opportunity
Wayne Furbert [PLP] said that Bermuda during the day has quite a bit to offer visitors including “sun, sand, and sailing”, but said that evenings in Bermuda have far less to offer, and we need to bring things to life. He said he has spoken with many tourists who said they really enjoyed themselves during the day but that evenings were “kind of boring”.
Glenn Blakeney [PLP] also talked about the need to improve our entertainment options for visitors, saying we should use local entertainers more. Minister Blakeney, who owns popular radio station Hott 107, showed himself to be amongst the “hippest” of the MPs by reeling off a string of names of reggae DJs.
Shawn Crockwell [BDA] called Hamilton a “ghost town”, and said we need utilize our local entertainers more. Other MPs including Cole Simons [UBP], Walter Lister [PLP], and Deputy Premier Paula Cox [PLP] also spoke to the need for local entertainers.
Several MPs made references to well known local entertainers by name including Wendell “Shine” Hayward, Tony Brannon, Bootsie, Collie Buddz, Ninja Cutty, and 2 Fools [Nadanja Bailey, Jah Simmons].
In past decades Bermudian hotels and night clubs frequently offered live local entertainment, with numerous local entertainers able to make a living including Hubert Smith, Talbot Brothers, Redd Fox, Sydney Bean, Brian Butterfield, Ghandi Burgess, Gene Steede, Lance Hayward and many more. Local entertainers have previously spoken out about their desire to have more opportunities on the island.
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I totally agree. Our nigh life and local entertainment needs a BIGGER investment!! We used to be huge in this sector from what I am hearing from local music veterans back then like my dad and family(Ufonics) and even when the hotels didn’t invest as much as they should have, they still did their own thing and entertained.
Clay house days, Rosebank Theatre, etc I keep hearing of how talented we are and keep seeing Bermudians wanting to be in local entertainment, BUT it doesn’t happen.
We need to invest more in our people, our local talent! This will improve our tourism and hospitality industry greatly b/c tourists come to Bermuda to see and hear Bermudians, not anyone one else! Let’s give them what they want. Bless
-Kennette Burgess