THE St James Parish Council is committed to investing in the staging of Reggae Sumfest in its capital city Montego Bay.

For mayor of Montego Bay Glendon Harris, this fits into the overall aim of the council.

“The parish council is taking the time to invest in projects like Reggae Sumfest, as there are benefits to be earned over the long and short term. Furthermore, we want Montego Bay to become the entertainment capital of Jamaica, so we must support this venture and others like it.”

He noted that, although there is limited inflows into the council itself from the staging of Reggae Sumfest, the spin-offs for the city, in particular, and the parish of St James as a whole are great.

“There will always be benefits to be derived. From the need for additional security, to food — which means our farmers benefit — there is something to be gained. Whether it is official or informal — from peanut man to increased bookings in our hotels — there is generally an injection of funds in the city and it spreads around.”

Reggae Sumfest is the brainchild of a group of Montego Bay-based businessmen who saw the need to fill the vacuum left behind following the decision to withdraw Reggae Sunsplash from that city.

The first festival was staged in 1993 and the event has been going strong ever since.

This year’s festival, the 22nd staging, has been able to attract some of the top acts in local reggae and dancehall music. In addition, international acts Jason Derulo, Wiz Khalifa and Future are scheduled to perform.

See related story Huge crowd forSumfest opener