Robert Bryan, executive director of Jamaica Cricket 2007 Limited, the Local Organising Committee (LOC), at the LOC Office in New Kingston, yesterday. In the background is Heather Shields of Scotiabank, an official sponsor of the ICC WI 2007 Cricket World Cup. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Lack of support from corporate Jamaica has forced the Jamaica Cricket 2007 Limited, the Local Organisation Committee (LOC), to scale down several of the cultural activities planned for the event days ahead of the tournament's start.

Months ago, the LOC unveiled plans to establish several 'Team Jamaica Villages', expected to be tourism hot spots so to speak, which would showcase the best that the country has to offer from a cultural standpoint.

Hope Gardens, for example, was expected to be the official cultural and family entertainment centre, with several other activities and destinations scattered around the island.

However, destinations and events will now be rolled into the 'One Love Jamaica Village', much to the dismay of several residents in areas surrounding the event, like Allman Town, where plans to establish a cultural vending plaza were cancelled.

"The response of many persons in corporate Jamaica to support many of the initiatives around has not been that exciting and at the end of the day, without resources, a lot of these things can't happen," said executive director of the LOC, Robert Bryan.

Lack of resources

"We would have hoped that maybe we could have done a number of 'Villages' of this nature, but the resources have just not been available," he added.

"From the evidence that we have seen, the support from corporate Jamaica in response to the event has been weak," the executive director pointed out.

The One Love Jamaica Village will be run from March 12-24 and will be located on the grounds of the National Housing Trust and Cable and Wireless Golf Academy in New Kingston.

The venue will employ some 120 craft and food vendors and will feature state-of-the-art wireless Internet facilities and closed-circuit television which will show live cricket games.

The Village, which has been sponsored by Cable and Wireless along with Scotiabank, will also host various parties and will also feature international and local acts on various concert nights.

"Everybody has agreed that if we focus our attention on the Village it will provide the maximum benefits and outcome that we are all looking for," said Bryan.

"It's a fairly extensive outlay anyway and it ensures that at this time we are in a position to do it properly."