The news that Government has decided to pull the plug completely on Crop Over 2021 comes as no surprise to us. And while Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Culture, John King, told the media in April that there would definitely be a festival but one with a difference, we always had our doubts about the assertion.What was telling at the time the Minister made the comment was the country was still in the midst of battling community spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus which has claimed 47 lives in Barbados.In an Editorial headlined: We Welcome The New-look Crop Over But Let’s Be Cautious, which we published the day after his announcement, we cautioned Government that any attempt to have any form of the festival must take into account COVID-19 protocols.
