Videos: Minister Furbert Sings In UK
[Updated] Tourism Minister Wayne Furbert’s version of “Bermuda Is Another World” at a London hospitality event reached an international audience when his impromptu performance went out over the social networking site Twitter, he revealed in Parliament on Friday [Nov. 18].
Mr. Furbert said he sang the opening verse of the island’s unofficial tourism anthem at a recent dinner in London for hospitality industry partners which was held in conjunction with the annual World Travel Market.
“Bloggers who were in attendance on the night instantly began tweeting and recording my performance for their captive audience,” Mr Furbert said.
“An unforgettable highlight of the week was our appreciation dinner hosted at the Plateau Restaurant in Canary Wharf,” said Mr. Furbert.
“Transported by a traditional British red double decker bus guests were invited on board to enjoy an evening of good company at a restaurant renowned for its breathtaking views across this thriving financial quarter of London.
“To the surprise and delight of our evening guests, within hours of landing in London, I was serenading the audience, backed by Bermuda’s band Tempo, by beginning my address with the opening versus of ‘Bermuda is another World’ and sharing one of my greatest passions, singing, with the guests!
“Over 25 travel bloggers who were in attendance on the night instantly began tweeting and recording my performance for their captive audience and within 24 hours it had reached an audience of over 130,000.”
A brief 15 second camera phone clip via Twitter of his performance is below:
Randy Wilcott, Director of Sales and Marketing at Elbow Beach Hotel, who attended the dinner stated, “Not only were customers impressed with the serenade but they were also touched by Minister Furbert’s passion for Bermuda as a world-class vacation destination and his sincere expression of our gratitude for the business they bring to Bermuda.”
Sara Dolan, British Airways Partnership Manager Tourist Boards commented, “I attended the Bermuda Appreciation Dinner at WTM and was pleasantly surprised to be serenaded by the new Minister of Tourism, who it has to be said, has an amazing voice.”
Mr. Furbert said the London travel trade show drew 26,000 industry professionals from around the world and was an opportunity to reintroduce and reposition Bermuda in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Update: A longer video clip of Mr Furbert’s performance:
“Bermuda really stood out, amongst this competitive arena, we were pleased to welcome Miss Bermuda Jana Outerbridge and a Gombey Dancer to shake things up. They brought the destination to life and helped create an unforgettable backdrop to many broadcast and photographic opportunities, as well as handing out literature and marketing collateral to visually engage visitors.”
The Minister’s remarks in full appear below:
Mr Speaker,Last week I had the pleasure of travelling to London for the annual World Travel Market Exhibition to reawaken the UK’s consumer and trade love affair with Bermuda.
This event was held at the Excel Centre in the Docklands area of London. Our presence did not go un-noticed with our pink aura — or rather our pink shorts — attracting TV crews, photographers, journalists, trade partners and visitors from around the world.
They came in their hundreds to the stand to engage with us and find out more about what our beautiful island has to offer.
Mr Speaker, To those of you who are not familiar, the World Travel Market Exhibition attracts over 26,000 global businessmen and women in the travel industry and this year the attendance was up by 8 per cent.
In total there are over 5,000 exhibitors from around the world, including Bermuda. The aim being to make the most of this opportunity by influencing the hearts and minds of those who can help us drive new tourism business from this market to Bermuda in 2012.
Mr Speaker, on the stand were the leaders from six influential hotels: Cambridge Beaches, Fairmont Southampton and Fairmont Hamilton, Grotto Bay, Elbow Beach and the Reefs Hotel and Club.
These representatives played a key role in driving enquiries into what is new and exciting about the destination. Over the three days we had a fully packed itinerary that witnessed over 90 face-to-face briefings across media, bloggers, tour operators, travel agents and airline industry partners.
Bermuda really stood out, amongst this competitive arena, we were pleased to welcome Miss Bermuda, Jana Outerbridge, and a Gombey Dancer to shake things up.
They brought the destination to life and helped create an unforgettable backdrop to many broadcast and photographic opportunities, as well as handing out literature and marketing collateral to visually engage visitors.
As the newly appointed Minister of Tourism I have some very clear ambitions to drive visitation to Bermuda in 2012. We aim to continue building our strong relationship with key trade partners and tour operators alike and we will continue to ensure that the island’s economy benefits from our global efforts to promote and support existing events that will ultimately increase visitation to our shores.
Our newly appointed publicity team and trade representation in the UK have hit the ground running to ensure that Bermuda is being seen as an aspirational holiday destination by all the right people, at the right time, in the right places.
Mr Speaker, showcasing Bermuda as an accessible yet aspirational destination has undoubtedly been one of our keen aims during our time in the UK. An unforgettable highlight of the week was our appreciation dinner hosted at the Plateau Restaurant in Canary Wharf.
Transported by a traditional British red double decker bus guests were invited on board to enjoy an evening of good company at a restaurant renowned for its breathtaking views across this thriving financial quarter of London.
To the surprise and delight of our evening guests, within hours of landing in London, I was serenading the audience, backed by Bermuda’s band Tempo, by beginning my address with the opening versus of “Bermuda is another World” and sharing one of my greatest passions, singing, with the guests!
Over 25 travel bloggers who were in attendance on the night instantly began tweeting and recording my performance for their captive audience and within 24 hours it had reached an audience of over 130,000.
The Appreciation Dinner offered us the chance to recognise some of our key partners with awards for their continual support. Winners on the evening included tour operators Purely Bermuda and British Airways Holidays who were both awarded “Excellence in Partnership” Awards.
Adventures in Radio took the prize of Outstanding Partnership for their broadcast promotion that took place earlier this year. Our collaboration brought together several radio stations who broadcasted remotely from Bermuda to the UK, touching over four million listeners.
It is this type of teamwork that we need to build on for 2012 to see Bermuda continues to rise as a top partner destination.
Mr Speaker, ultimately, our week in the UK has demonstrated that we must all pull together as one to ensure our beautiful island remains at the forefront of people’s minds in this highly competitive marketplace.
With the global recession still entrenched, our offer must, more than ever, be compelling and showcase new reasons to visit Bermuda as well as highlight the heritage and cultural links we have with Britain.
We must continue to position the diversity of this island all year round whether that’s enjoying a round of golf, relaxing in a world-class spa or exploring coastal ship wrecks – we have a primetime opportunity to illustrate our unparalleled qualities.
To further enhance the opportunity, moving into 2012 we will be working closely with our New York, Boston and Philadelphia partners to maximise the opportunity for UK travelers to literally ‘shop and flop’ in Bermuda with twin center agreements.
To close, I am sincerely looking forward to a successful year ahead for the tourism industry.
Thank You! Mr. Speaker.
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ok flip flop u just brought new meaning to the phrase “singing for your supper”
you go Bie!!
Nice UBP/PLP fuddy-duddy.
The man is trying something different and you beat up on him wow. Right now I’m not sure what party I’m going to vote for.
I’ll tell you what if this is the type of hate the OBA has supporting it come next election you can forget my vote.
We all need to work together for the Country and if Wayne is trying something different….. then let him role with it.
Hope you can keep your day job. Wonder what Simon Cowell would say?
He would be spewing his UBP lights out.
Mr. Furbert please just stick to politics you dont have a future in music
Thats what i am saying Sell Bermuda what ever it takes use your Gift from God, singing…You will be a Great Tourism Minister.. when you walk in the room sing sing sing make them pay attention and sell Bermuda..VISION, TALENT, MARKET TOOLS..
Minister Cousin Wayne you will be successful because its in you..
We will support you..
wow PLP is truly running out of ideas to bring people to this island…he was way out of tune, singing about an island which is NOT truly another world…we got vehicles, we got murders, we got gangs, we got a corrupt govt., sounds like the rest of the world to me…except it all happens in 21sq miles
I didn’t think it was bad at all. The ending was a little shakey but he sounded fine, I thought.
Good on you Minister Furbert for having the courage to represent us like that. I won’t be voting PLP in the next election but it is not all bad either.
Flipper Furbert, was this show a part of the deal with robain and zane. Is the act called flipper, zane and robain?????
If he is going to hold the job for any length of time he needs to take some speaking & promotion lessons from The Master, CV Jim Woolridge. Now THERE is a PERFORMANCE onstage.
Jim ,was the best tourism minister bermuda has ever had.
Ditto – They don’t made them like that anymore.
Why don’t all of you naysayers become perfect politicians.
Maybe if CV Jim Woolridge wouldnt have gotten rid of college weeks, we would still have flocks of tourists coming to our shores.
You people have very selective memories.
You has been UBP/ OBA people are so frigin predictable, it’s almost laughable.
Jim didn’t get rid of College Weeks .. Bermuda starting charging more than they could afford ..hmmm , wonder where that came from ? ?
And a certain segment of the population began complaining about the antics of all these wild (white) college kids. Pretty much chased them out in the end .
Now , what were you saying about selective memory ?
college students would have done just fine…trust a PLP faithful to bring up race
ya, Jim went for the upper class tourists!!
Better check your own memory. It is very selective. As usual when things go wrong it is seldom for one reason but a combination.
First of all Bermuda priced itself out of the market. Places like Mexico were far cheaper & have better weather. Places like Florida & the other Gulf Coast states are also cheaper & far more welcoming to the party atmosphere. Bermuda properties, even with their high prices did not want to deal with damage done by a few rowdy students, never mind that those students would return again & again as responsible adults. Then there was the self inflicted damage done by Bermudians themselves. You never knew when the BIU would simply walk off the job. There were handbag snatchings from cycle baskets, harrassment towards the girls by local males & the lack of night entertainment.
College Weeks will not come back. Our competitors do a better job for less & they are not going to give that business up.
Jim did not get rid of College weeks. Money and greed toward IB did. get a life…..
Ya right, JIM was the BEST. He was so good, that when he stopped the tens of thousands students that used to flock to our shores, it started the trickle down effect.
Full performance here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHejdGGpzKY
@Dumbfounded thanks for the link
That is why we vote for Wayne, he loves Bermuda and its people. Keep singing.
Speak for yourself mate. good for WF for doing this, but let’s not let it mask the shocking job this Government has done with Tourism, and the lies it continues to tell. Maybe WF can get a cabaret job at one of the new hotels the PLP have promised us, oh hang on…….
Nobody should be allowed to bastardize such a beautiful song.
Hmmm…I checked out the YouTube video provided by Dumbfounded and thought he sounded pretty darned good. Good for Wayne that he can burst out into song about his country rather than carry on like a cantankerous, blustery, pompous a$$ like some people! If prospective travellers to Bermuda were reading the above angry posts, it would be no wonder if they’d decide to go elsewhere.
For all you UBP/OBA faithful just like this promise by your beloved UBP/OBA MP’s
Minister of Works and Engineering, C.V. (Jim) Woolridge, yesterday unveiled plans for the greening of the Pembroke Dump.
Phase One of the Pembroke Marsh Park plan, scheduled to commence this month,
Minister of Works and Engineering, C.V. (Jim) Woolridge, yesterday unveiled plans for the greening of the Pembroke Dump.
Phase One of the Pembroke Marsh Park plan, scheduled to commence this month, will see about one third of the 25-acre site transformed into a residential playground — complete with linear-lake system, outdoor amphitheatre, soccer and cricket field, basketball courts, and an extensive playground for children.
Still waiting for that one too
Dont panic i’ll find the story with the exact words your beloved UBP/OBA MP’s provided
Here’s another one by your beloved Mr Jim Woolridge. BUT all you UBP/ OBA faithful have been blaming the PL the past yrs.
“Replace Swing Bridge” Works and Engineering Minister C.V. (Jim) Woolridge said the Swing Bridge was well able to cope with existing traffic.
And he added: “I’m sure the issues surrounding Longbird will be dealt with by the Premier.”
Looks like he passed the buck to me.
The PLP were elected in 1998 and rapidly agreed to the first offer from the US of $10m and promptly spent it on other things. No idea how to negotiate and 8 years after Fabian we still have a temporary bridge because there is no money to build a permanent fixture.
Better check that history, the factual, not repeated folklore. I didn’t know Swing Bridge needed replacing. Longbird Bridge, including the causeway, now, that is another issue. Ummm, Longbird bridge did not revert to Bermuda’s responsibility till after 1998. Check to see who signed off on the piddly $10M. The US negotiators must have laughed all the way to the bank on that one. PLP handling of former baselands has been a pretty amateurish affair from begining to end. Read the book.
Hurricane Fabian passed this way & severely damaged Longbird in 2003, under a PLP Government I believe, which has been promising to replace it ever since. The Hoover Dam took less time to build than a simple causeway replacement.
Better regrind your lens. It is distorted.
Do you remember this or you still got selective memory.
Dr Saul ponders Cabinet shuffle. He has to be fair to those ministers who have stuck by him in the tough times and he has to include in his Cabinet enough of “The Five” to heal the rift in his Parliamentary Group.
Of “The Five”, it seems clear that Trevor Moniz will not be considered as suitable for any Cabinet. He is not a team player or, indeed, a UBP player. It is also unlikely that Dr. Saul would consider Ann Cartwright DeCouto for a Cabinet post in the wake of her support to censure him. Yet, he will have to remember just how much the UBP needs her Pembroke West Central seat. That leaves two former ministers, Dr. Clarence Terceira and C.V. Jim Woolridge, and backbencher Dr. David Dyer in Cabinet consideration.
There are some star Cabinet members like Jerome Dill and Pamela Gordon whom Premier Saul has to look after. Mr. Dill should stay as Minister of Education to see through the completion of the new mega-school and through the audit which he ordered of the Ministry of Education. The only way the Premier can possibly move Ms Gordon is up.
He is unlikely to touch the party warhorse, Quinton Edness, who appears settled at Home Affairs, or David Dodwell who is working very hard at Tourism.
Grant Gibbons is another matter. He has been carrying both the Bases transition and Finance, both of which are important, but he would probably like to get rid of one of them. However, there is a problem. His success has been with bases transition. The disaster he created was at Finance when he agreed to Grape Bay Ltd., yet there is no-one else to fill Finance.
Clearly, Wayne Furbert has been struggling with the Transport portfolio, yet he is said to poll high in Hamilton West which is a marginal constituency vital to the UBP. To replace him might cause his election defeat. Clearly Harry Soares will be moved from the Health Ministry and the problems of the prisons. The post could well be filled by dentists Terceira or Dyer but we would not be surprised to see Pamela Gordon promoted there after her success with Environment.
Community and Cultural Affairs Minister Yvette Swan has been both very active and good at her job and if, as it seems, the UBP considers the Senator a potential candidate in Warwick, then she needs the Cabinet exposure. Youth and Sport Minister Tim Smith was demoted once when he should have been dropped from the Cabinet. His House seat is safe but not one of “The Five” is likely to relish the Youth and Sport ministry.
Telecommunications Minister John Barritt, Dr. Saul’s running mate, has indicated a willingness to make room for one of “The Five” and his seat is safe. He will probably go.
All of these decisions and the future of this Cabinet are clouded by ongoing public speculation on the future of Dr. Saul himself. The United Bermuda Party is still unsettled. Many see a bleak future for the UBP if Dr. Saul continues in the leadership until the next election but they are unable to suggest a viable replacement.
Dr. Saul has said that he is going to do a minimum of two years as Premier, but some UBP supporters believe that if he does not go before Parliament reconvenes, it will be too late to establish a new leader and revive the party’s fortunes.
Because i remember not too long ago, all you UBP/OBA faithfuls were putting the MEGA school squarely on the shoulders of the PLP…
Read n Weep
You OBA bugs are really simple. Nothing anybody in the PLP does could ever make sense or be right in your eyes. You take the time out to post the most useless and irrelevant statements just to spread your hate. That’s weak and pathetic politics. But
you still have the nerve to accuse the PLP members/supporters of being nasty and divisive.
I think the reason behind the Minister singing is far more important then how he sounded and I’m sure those in attendance got his message.
And for the record, Collage years was stopped in Bermuda due to the damage cause to
property by the students and the disturbance they caused to others. Not for any of the reasons some of you are putting on it. However some of those issues you listed are relevant to today’s problems and I’m certain the present Minister is aware of that and has it under consideration moving forward in bringing Collage Weeks back, just as he is aware of the problems that caused its end the first time and he will be better able to know how the make it work for us today.
Attempt to hide it all your want with you post of distraction, but the truth is in plan sight and that is that the PLP Government is at work while the OBA is learning how to crawl.
Christ, you really lack rational thought. How anyone can think the last 13 years have been anything but a complete disaster is beyond comprehension.
Learn to spell.
Don’t confuse hate with anger. A whoole bunch of people are angry & fed up with this corrupt, inept PLP Government starting with near $200,000.00 per day, & growing, interest cost on a near $2B debt which is growing with no viable plans to reduce it.
Personal hate? No. Hate of an entity for its dismal performance? Oh Yes.
Bringing back College Weeks? Never gonna happen. Is that a promise like the one we had about “work starting on the Park Hyatt in November 2011″?
Never mind. I guess by asking the PLP to actually do what they say, I am just “spreading hate”…
Mad Dawg….Brown mentioned in his December 2007 yes 2007 speeches before the election that work would commence on the Park Hyatt before year end….in other words he said in Mid December a week before the election that work would start shortly after the election in 2007…he lied…..in fact right up to his departure work was going to start any day….The PLP think that just by saying something that is the same as actually DOING something….reversing this law….PATI…..Park Hyatt….eliminating descrimination…..and yet they do NOTHING…they say it but dont DO IT…..time and time again…..all we have here is politicking which is about the only thing they do well….see I paid them a complement….you are good at making promises that you never intend to keep…..
Well, on the subject of Ewart Brown’s promises that came to absolutely nothing, how about the speech when he claimed that there was a total of $3Billion in investment in hotels in the pipeline?
Of course, by bringing up broken plp promises I must be “spreading hate”…
I wonder which UBP Civil Servant was responsible for this and if they were asked to resign:
Casemates was locked up — almost for good
Top civil servants have avoided breaking into their own jail — despite losing the keys for three years.
Jailors literally locked Casemates up and threw away the keys when the Westgate Correctional Facility opened in 1994.
The keys to the old Royal Navy prison were hidden away in a Government storage box and have not been found since.
And your point is?????????
The point is that you OBA bugs are full of BS and only speak as a means to discredit the PLP and misinform the people. You try and hold on to the ties of the UBP (note OBA Response to Throne Speech were CC clams ownership to ideas put forward by the Premier that we’re suggested by now OBA MP’s under the UBP) but try to distance yourselves from the bad things by saying you are a completely different party.
All you guys ever do is talk negative and, you are putting your party before Bermuda by posting so negative on a story about promoting Bermuda, which is being viewed by many people thinking about traveling here.
You are the divisive ones and when you get backed into a wall you post cop-out responses like:
*Your a paid PLP blogger
*Learn to spell
*I can’t understand your post
*stop drinking PLP kool-aid
*your using the race card
*what about the debt
*your a blind follower
*cogwash
*Ewart Brown…….
You do that because you are unable to come up with a rational response
Now feel free to use one of your cop-outs.
For crying out loud! How can ADULTS keep making such a silly mistake? It makes me cringe.
Here we go:
You’re (you are) a paid PLP blogger.
You’re (you are) using the race card.
You’re (you are) a blind follower
And all of you think you should work in IB. You would be laughed right out of the building with your P1 spelling.
@ B, a lady says: It has be quite sometime since being able to spell has been a criteria for getting a job in IB or anywhere else for that matter. Being able to use your computer software is. for crying out loud! Bloggers are NOT interested in spelling or grammer. The only one being laughed out of the building on this one is you. …um just saying.
Been on a job interview lately?
Oops…see a few mistakes. Feel free to correct.
Why bother correct anything. Like the rest of the populace, you are comfortable with mediocrity and are just too arrogant to accept constructive criticism. Do not worry about whether I’ve interviewed lately. I have a job, and it pays well. You, on the other hand?
what an ignorant uninformed comment…needing to spell correctly is quintessential in the IB company where I work. For you to think you can spell any way you wish in the IB world is just plain …stoopid!
Putting party before country? No sense of irony then eh? Moron.
Yup… Got his priorities straight inna!
So sad …
Gotta give him points for trying. He’d have been better singing, ‘Its my party & I’ll cry if I want to”.
@Under the miscroscope… you hit the nail on the head… spot on. Bermuda is not Miami Beach…but he won’t get it.. for Bermuda pricing itself out of the market, who are these people who keep touting this myth, probably haven’t run a a darn thing, but think they know who is making obscene profits et al…. spare us.
Thank you for proving my point. By the way most of the people pricing Bermuda out of the market are OBA members.
Cause they own businesses staffed by BIU workers that only put out 30% in productivity and want 1000% in wages .. Or else they’ll strike and close the island down and spit on tourists while they’re doing it.
What about BIU members? With their bus strikes, work to rules, hostility towards passangers, 14 weeks paid sick leave, 8 weeks paid vacation? Aren’t they ‘pricing Bermuda out of the market’ as well?
Wow it’s amazing how an extremely short singing clip inspires Bermudians to write so much utter Bu11zhit. I’m glad it wasn’t a full song.
Singing wasn’t bad either
WOW that was really nice song from him. Great.
Have a great day everyone
RED FLAG IS A PAID PLP BLOGGER
JIM BEAN IS A PAID OBA BLOGGER
None of this bickering matters…Bermuda debt $1.05 billion plus and increasing…Soon we will be under the stewardship of those Note Holders when they call the notes and we are unable to pay…we will all be singing for supper then…just a metter of time…Wayne just got a head start…
A man sings a song that draws the applause of its listeners, promotes our country, is not offensive, nor is it filled with hatred or violence, yet it still brings about such negative remarks from the very people of its homeland. Good grief people – do you look for, dig for, assume the negative in everything????
I guess this signals the end of light moments in Bermuda. Just an energetic Tourism Minister doing an imprompto version of “Bermuda is Another World” which was well received by the audience. That’s all. Very good effort Wayne.
I think Wayne Furbert,will do a fine job as our tourism minister… I think if he could get E.Michael Jones to travel with him these two love Bermuda…and E. Michael has a great personality ….I listen to Gina and Michael every day.I love the way these two joke with each other. thank you Z.B.M.
Well done the Minister Furbert, keep pushing to promote Bermuda. You are working hard to push Tourism in Bermuda. It is not an easy task, but I am so glad that you have the energy and motivation, drive, and enthusiasm, to move mountains anyway. Some people do nothing but “talk”, but you are about ‘action’.
I applaud his efforts. It is not easy to promote Bermuda. I believe that in the past 5 years however a lot of traveling and freebies were provided to Travel Agents, Tour Operators etc….time to put pressure on them to deliver, enough of the freebies. We can only do so much and some, not all, take advantage of free trips and functions with no pressure to deliver.
wayne has a passion for polotics & in this case being well paid for it, go ahead kid