Dear Editor,
As a Guyanese living overseas, I came home to Guyana for the Carnival festivities expecting a memorable experience, but I left ‘xtra stink and dutty’ on May 22 feeling extremely disappointed.
The event had an entertaining lineup of performances, but the poor organisation completely overshadowed the experience. I waited over an hour just to get into the venue, and there seemed to be little to no crowd management in place. The entry line was chaotic, with people packed shoulder to shoulder, pushing, arguing, and creating what honestly felt like a serious safety hazard before we even got inside.
Unfortunately, things didn’t improve once inside the event. The bars were extremely disorganised, and I spent over an hour trying to buy drinks. One bar appeared to have only three bartenders serving a massive crowd, which made the wait frustrating and unnecessary.
What made it even more disappointing was seeing social media portray the event as organised and enjoyable, especially with overseas influencers seemingly receiving preferential treatment while regular patrons dealt with confusion and poor management. The performances themselves were good, but the lack of planning and proper crowd control ruined what should have been a great experience. Experiences like this do not leave a good impression on visitors and are not the way to promote tourism or showcase the best of what Guyana has to offer.