King's House responds to Shaggy's statements about the east lawn and venue changes for charity show

King's House responds to Shaggy's statements about the east lawn and venue changes for charity show

 

 

There will be no Shaggy and Friends concert in  2020. During a press conference on Monday, Shaggy confirmed that the event will be postponed until further notice as the foundation was unable secure a venue for the concert.

Shaggy shared that one of the reasons there will be no concert in 2020 was that his team had not been able to find a suitable location. He noted that over the years the event has grown resulting in traffic congestion. One of the ways to ease the pile-up was the use of the east lawn at King's House. He revealed that while the governor general had granted the use of the lawns for the event in 2018, he received a letter stating that this space will no longer be made available for the event.

In a statement yesterday, King's House noted that it has accommodated requests from the Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation for use of the west lawn for parking over the years.

“On December 17, 2017, we received a request for the use of the east Lawn for parking for the January 6, 2018 concert. A further request was also made to cut an existing fence to allow for passage from the east lawn to the Jamaica House grounds. This action would have affected the security of both properties, and the request was denied. Nevertheless, given the circumstances regarding traffic congestion, flow, and control, a concession was made. However, the organisers were advised that in the future, the east lawn would not be available, and they would need to revert to the previous arrangements for parking, that is, the west lawn,” the statement read.

King's House added that the east lawn of the property is only used for parking for national occasions, such as the swearing in of prime ministers and the national honours and awards ceremony.

 Shaggy has hinted that the show may be held at the National Stadium, as he was inspired by the magnitude of the Buju Banton Long Walk To Freedom show.

"I would love to have a show with all Jamaican acts, that was the plan I had," he said.