Philipsburg:--- The government of St. Maarten will pump USD 400,000.00 into the 7th Anniversary Celebration of TEMPO which is to be held on St. Maarten from November 25th, 2012 to December 1st, 2012 in Festival Village. The announcement was made on Monday by Minister of Tourism, Transportation, and Economic Affairs, Romeo Pantophlet. TELEM group of companies donated USD 20,000.00 while the Harbor Group of Companies donated USD 25,000.00 for the event. Owner of TEMPO Frederic Morton told reporters that the annual concerts cost millions of dollars and he is hoping that more companies will follow the path of government and make their contributions to TEMPO so that the 7th Anniversary Celebration would be bigger and more successful. TEMPO he said will spend over a million dollars on advertising the 7th Anniversary Celebration while they will also endure some other expenses. Morton said St. Maarten was chosen as the destination to host the TEMPO's 7th Anniversary when he began negotiations with Member of Parliament Romain Laville. MP Laville was also present at the press conference on Monday.
The week long event will focus on the Christian foundation and youths. The opening night will begin with praise and worship, while they will also focus on the youths of St. Maarten. One of their well known talents "Badness out of Style" will be featured, while emphasis will be placed on the elderly.
Morton said that the TEMPO concert will generate more GDP for St. Maarten which in turn translates into economic value for the island. He said St. Maarten will receive at least 600 adverts in the US tri-state areas. Profits that are made from the concert will be shared 50% while 80% of the ticket sales will remain on the island.
However, Morton could not assure the media on Monday if Reggae artist Marshal Montana will be part of the event since he swore never to return to St. Maarten after being arrested for marijuana possession some years ago by St. Maarten police. Morton said that he could not say for sure if his friend Montana will decide to participate because so far the discussions he had with him have not been positive. "It's an uphill battle for me to get Montana here because he has not forgotten his ordeal with the police on St. Maarten. When asked by SMN News if Montana knows that possession of marijuana is a crime on St. Maarten, Morton said that based on what he knew of the incident police on St. Maarten did not have sufficient evidence and the case against Montana was dismissed."
