Southex: How we made Chutney Soca Monarch free to public

The Chutney Soca Monarch competition is upon us once again, during this season of the Mother of All Carnivals.

The competition will be held on Fantastic Friday at Skinner Park, San Fernando.

Are people aware of how Southex CEO and Chutney Soca Monarch promoter George Singh is able to stage the competition for free every year?

Singh said the event costs over $2 million, including prizes and staging the competition. The winners will receive $400,000 for the first prize, $75,000 for the second, $50,000 for the third and $25,000 for each contestant who does not place.

He said most of the funding comes from the government through the National Carnival Commission (NCC), but the show has secured a few corporate sponsors.

And his philosophy is: “Once we get the cost of our show covered, that we give the show back to the people.

"I think Chutney Soca Monarch is an important show, and we would like TT to have as much access to it as possible. It is funded heavily by government, and because of that, I feel like it is important to give the show back to the people, which is why it is free...

“Some of the largest events in the world have been free to the public and that is the template that we are using."Also, he said, "I would really like to see Chutney Soca Monarch, from a patron’s perspective, grow and become one of the largest events, patron-wise, in Carnival.”

The contest is important, he believes, because it has "spawned an industry that now involves thousands of people – producers, dancers, recording studios, and prop builders – there are a lot of people involved.”

Singh said at the finals of the competition, there are around 2,000 people working backstage alone.

The prize structure is based "solely on the amount of money that is collected, so we were able to at least manage the budget.

"When we started the season, we basically gave people an idea of what we’re proposing and I made pitches to the government and NCC. Based on what is allocated, we then make a decision as to what the final prize structure will be.”

In January, Singh said in a release he was hoping for the return of pre-covid days, with first prize being $500,000, $100,000 for second, $75,000 for third and $35,000 for each contestant.

On the future of state sponsorship for competitions like these, Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts Randall Mitchell said, “The State will continue to support its cultural heritage assets including calypso, kalinda/stick fighting, kiddies' Carnival, Canboulay, ole mas, chutney, tassa, among other examples of our cultural heritage in the same way other countries do, financially and otherwise.”

Over the years, Singh said, investment in the event has grown, though some years there is less than others.

"This year, coming out of covid19, was a little bit of a challenge. I think people are now getting back into the norm of what Carnival is. The last three years, corporate sponsors had very low investments.”

He said during the pandemic, the investment went from “low to zero,” but Chutney Soca Monarch was one of the competitions that were hosted virtually.

Funding is usually his biggest challenge in putting together the event. but the show is back to the size of its pre-covid days.

“I wouldn’t say that it’s bigger than normal, but it is definitely packaged differently. One of the things that we continue to do inside of Chutney Soca Monarch is innovate. So every year we come up with different ideas to make the show interesting and to attract the public.”

The theme this year is Legends and Icons. Singh said eight Caribbean artistes will be awarded for their contribution to the Indo/Caribbean music industry. They are Rikki Jai, Drupatee, Rooplal Girdharie, Herralal Rampartap, Terry Gajraj from Guyana, Chris Ramkhelawan from Suriname and producer Big Rich.

Some of these artistes are set to perform at the show, with a few additions.

This year, too, Indo/crossover music artiste Anil Bheem will be given a posthumous award for his contribution to the music industry.

Bheem died on February 4 after performing the night before. Singh said the award will be collected by his daughter Pritivi Bheem.

“I think it’s important to recognise people’s contributions. We will also be doing a tribute to Anil Bheem: the show has been dedicated in his name. One hour before the show starts, we will only be playing Anil Bheem’s music at the venue. The show is also being opened by Pritivi Bheem and she will be singing The Anthem together with her father, with his voice in the background and a video.”

Rumshop Chronicles from Toronto will host the show and he will be joined by international DJ SD Sound.