By Aabigayle McIntosh

Eight bands are down to compete in the highly anticipated return of the Panorama Competition slated for August 5 at the Antigua Recreation Grounds (ARG).

The event is returning 3 years after it was placed on ice due to the COVID pandemic.

The competing bands are Caribbean Union Bank’s Hells Gate Steel Orchestra, West Indies Oil Company Limited Gemonites, Cool and Smooth Ebonites, Original Steel Orchestra, Westside Symphony, Panache, Harmonites, and Halcyon.

Robert Margretson is the Public Relations Officer for Antigua and Barbuda Steel Pan Association.

“It’s a certain nostalgic feeling knowing that Panorama is on again after being missing for three years. I know a lot of people were calling for it even after last year. It did not happen but we were able to put on a number of other interesting alternatives”.

Margretson said the band members and their arrangers are currently tuning and practicing their pieces for the night of the competition.

Each band will be playing renditions from some of our noted Soca and Calypso artists.

“There is an excitement, there is a buzz going around, all the rivalries have been renewed. I would really, really love to see the audience demonstrate how much they missed Panorama by visiting the pan yards.

“You will be surprised at what that does to a band, I would like people to go the first, second, and third weeks and judge for themselves the progress that was made,” Margretson said.

Meanwhile, the PRO also revealed that for this year’s competition, a cap will be placed on the number of players that will be allowed in each band. The original cap was a minimum of 50 players and a maximum of 110

This has been adjusted to 50 minimum and 75 maximum.

“The feeling was coming off of COVID, there was a lot of inactivity for some of the bands, and some equipment would have been damaged by that same inactivity.

“We have to try everything possible to bring 8 bands on stage for Panorama and it meant we had not to look at each band but to do so collectively,” he said.

He also shared that the association is in still talks with the Festivals Commission on the issue of payment. They are also working with the Antigua and Barbuda Transport Board with regard to having school buses transporting each band.