Empire Catering owner Mario Pirozzolo recently announced that he would not be running the festival at Havre des Pas after he failed to secure sponsorship.
Following his decision, St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft wrote to the Bailiff’s office to ask permission for the parish, together with the Havre des Pas Improvement Group, to take over the organisation of the event.
And following the event’s approval, Mr Pirozzolo says he is delighted that the festival is to continue and hopes that the parish can run the event for many years to come.
‘It’s really good news that the festival is being rescued,’ he said. ‘I think the parish authorities are in a far better position to run the event than private enterprise. They have a town manager, the honorary police and refuse collectors, which means that the costs will be far less than they were when we ran the event.
‘The reason why we are not running the festival is simply because we couldn’t find a sponsor in time. We thought we had someone on board in June but that fell through. But even with a sponsor, we were still falling short.’
‘We worked very hard to find another sponsor and we pushed right until the 11th hour, but in the end it just wasn’t viable.’
Mr Crowcroft said that it was important to keep the festival going and that the parish intended to keep the same format as in previous years.
‘It’s an important festival for St Helier, coming just before the Battle of Flowers, and I was determined not to lose it,’ he said. ‘It’s a chance to showcase one of the most beautiful parts of the parish and it’s great to be able to close off the promenade and to have al-fresco eating.
‘We will be speaking to residents in the area, but we want to keep the festival more or less the same. There is some talk about bringing in more beach games, but I think otherwise it will be as has been in previous years.’
Mr Crowcroft added that he expected the cost of putting on the festival – which will be held on 9 August – to be low, but that he was looking at securing sponsorship for next year’s event.
