Minister St.Ange conducts visits construction site for the new purpose built Music Stadium of Seychelles
aTP- Arab tourism portal News – Minister St.Ange, the Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture accompanied by Principal Secretary for Culture Benjamine Rose, Principal Secretary for Tourism, Anne Lafortune and Chief Executive Officer of the National Arts Council, Jimmy Savy visited the construction site for the new purpose built Music Stadium for Seychelles that is scheduled to be opened by November 2016.
Also present were artists representing SEYMAS and the Patrick Victor Cultural Foundation. The delegation was very impressed by the work done so far and the quality of finish product anticipated.
The 1st foundation stone for the Music Stadium was laid on October 1, 2016 during an official ceremony whereby the symbolic appeal to the Attorney General to repeal the "Beating of Drums" regulations of 1935 was signed by the Minister.
Almost 10 months after the laying of the foundation stone, significant work has been done by contractor Allied Builders to build the Seychelles Music Stadium. The artists have been involved from the very beginning with designing the concept to make it a multi-purpose stadium where multiple art forms can use the venue. The stadium itself comprises of the main stage, backstage corridors adjoined to the loading bay, backstage facilities, changing rooms, office facilities and a ticket booth.
Minister St.Ange describes this facility as one of the biggest achievement for the development of Arts and Culture in the Seychelles. "We are a country with tourism as the pillar of our economy. We know that we cannot enjoy a consolidated tourism industry for the long term if we do not bring our culture and position it as the base of our development, because when we say culture we are of course saying our music, our dances, our Arts & Craft, our Seychellois Creole cuisine and most importantly our People. And for us putting our People at the centre of our development is key to our continued success" Minister Alain St.Ange said.
Minister St.Ange explained that this purpose built outdoor music stadium will be the biggest in the Indian Ocean and we are now anticipating of getting more regional groups coming to Seychelles to collaborate and perform with our local artists thus, developing this vibrant artistic platform for locals and tourist alike.
"This is in line with the continuous effort that the Ministry is investing in ensuring that the Arts is recognized as a serious and productive form of business in Seychelles.
Such initiative coincides well with the recent approval of the new entity Creative Industries and National Events Agency (CINEA) where its role is to provide facilities for artists to develop artistic business.
The Government is proud to invest in the arts and Culture, it shows its commitment to put culture at the centre of development and we at the Ministry, we have to ensure that our arts and culture transcend through the youth.
This music stadium will be used by many generations to come and will stay as an icon in Victoria, the capital of the creole world" Minister Alain St.Ange said..
