GOVERNMENT funding of around £220,000 is still available to Battle of Flowers organisers if they decide to go ahead with an alternative display after confirming the cancellation of the 2025 parade, the Economic Development Minister has said.
And Deputy Kirsten Morel told States Members yesterday he had only learned of the decision to cancel this year’s event following requests by the media for comment on Friday.
He said the government would work with the Battle of Flowers Association to explore the possibility of a “display of sorts” during Battle week this summer.
The 123-year-old event has only previously been cancelled as a result of world wars and the pandemic.
Deputy Morel confirmed that government funding – worth around £220,000 – would be available if organisers wished to proceed with an alternative event but he cautioned that any decision ultimately rested with the association rather than ministers.
“I’ve maintained throughout that it is their decision to make,” he told the Assembly yesterday afternoon.
“I made it clear to the Battle of Flowers Association that I stand ready
with the grant of approximately £220,000. It’s in my budget, and it’s still there.”
An independent strategy group set up to try to save the loss-making event said on Friday that this year’s parade would not go ahead owing to “the actions of the current board of directors and staff”.
The JEP yesterday revealed that despite its financial troubles, the Battle of Flowers spent at least £745,000 on the 2024 parade, including nearly £54,000 on security, £50,000 on marketing and £35,000 on international musical acts, including £30,000 on Eurovision runner-up Sam Ryder.
Addressing politicians yesterday, Deputy Morel said: “I am hoping that a display of sorts may go ahead in the summer during Battle week, and that grant is available for them.”
Since learning of the event’s cancellation, Deputy Morel said his team had worked closely with the organisers to support them through this “difficult period”. He added that no government grant for 2025 had been issued because no request for funding had been made.
“We did have a business plan last year – that was what the grants were paid against. No grant has been paid this year because no business plan has been provided,” the minister said.
Responding to suggestions that government representatives should sit on the Battle’s board because of the significant amounts of taxpayer money being invested, Deputy Morel said: “I do not want Jersey to become a government-controlled Island.”
The Battle of Flowers Association’s 2024 accounts are only complete up to September, with sources suggesting that the final accounts had still not been approved as of March 2025 owing to “massive debts to suppliers and questions from members about huge annual deficits”.
Asked by the JEP whether the government would honour the debts to suppliers, the Economic Development Department said it would not comment beyond its original statement issued last week.
“We are working with the Battle to secure its long-term future,” it said.
Meanwhile, figures obtained by the JEP through a Freedom of Information request show that the association spent £482,079 in 2023 and made a loss of £80,773 despite a £150,000 government grant.
This grant almost doubled to £270,000 for the 2024 event. In its FoI response, the government said it did not have a copy of the 2024 accounts.
An extraordinary meeting of exhibitors and members was due to be held yesterday evening at Grouville Parish Hall.
