Koffee, Sean Paul, Spice, Buju Banton & More To Perform For Jamaica’s COVID-19 Telethon
Update: Watch the Telethon Live here –
The COVID-19 virus has wreaked havoc on the world’s economies and has brought the planet to a virtual standstill. As the virus continues to spread it has now infected more than 1.6 million people and killed over 100, 000. The fallout from the world’s lockdown has already begun to negatively affect smaller Caribbean economies.
It’s with this in mind that the Jamaican Government has called on Dancehall and Reggae artistes to show their support. The Jamaican Government, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, is staging ‘Telethon Jamaica: Together We Stand,’ a virtual reggae concert on April 12 to raise funds to purchase crucial equipment such as gloves and masks for frontline healthcare workers in Jamaica.
Jamaica has 63 cases of the coronavirus, four deaths and three people have recovered. Jamaica is currently operating under curfew restrictions, which are expected to last until at least April 18th as they try to mitigate the spread of the disease. The island’s Finance Minister has already said that there will be a negative economic impact because of the virus.
In fact, he said: “We can expect a sharp rise in layoffs in the short term. We are likely to see a decline in quarterly GDP for the quarter ending March 2020 and we can certainly expect a sharp contraction in GDP in the first quarter ending June 2020 over the first quarter of the prior year, ending June 2019.”
The live concert will be streamed on the VP Records’ YouTube channel from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
Many Dancehall artistes have heeded the call to arms and have already signed up to perform. They include:
- Koffee
- Spice
- Buju Banton
- Shaggy
- Julian Marley
- Sean Paul
- Marcia Griffiths
- Christopher Martin
- OMI
- Jesse Royal
- Richie Stephens
- Richie Spice
- Third World
- Usain Bolt
The island’s minister of culture, Olivia “Babsy’ Grange said she was filled with gratitude that so many artistes have come forward to aid the nation.
She said: “We have always been able to rely on our artistes in times of crises; and I am really grateful for the way they have been responding to our invitation to participate in this life-saving effort.”
The concert was inspired by a new single from well-known Reggae artiste, Richie Spice. His recent single called Together We Stand helped to get the government thinking about how they could raise funds, according to the ministry.
He’s already trying to get the people involved as he posted the event on his Instagram page, saying: “Together We Stand telethon this Sunday! My people please stay inside and sanitize we will overcome this pandemic!.”
Several Dancehall artistes have tried to provide a measure of comfort to fans that are in lockdown on the island by doing online performances and even sharing cooking tips as well as various messages to stay inside and stay safe.
Dancehall fans and supporters around the world can do their part by making donations to ‘Telethon Jamaica: Together We Stand’. They are already accepting donations. If you’re interested in helping out the culturally rich island then visit www.jatogetherwestand.com or call 1-866-228-8393 toll-free from Jamaica, the United States or Canada; or +44 0808 189 6147 from the UK and Europe.
The government is hoping to raise US$10.5 million to acquire all the much needed resources and equipment to fight COVID-19 virus.