SEYCHELLES BIG 5 MUSICIANS LAUNCH THEIR FIRST PERFORMANCE TO PREPARE THEIR COMING 2014 TOUR OF THE VANILLA ISLANDS REGION

In the presence of Minister Alain St.Ange, the Minister of Tourism and Culture and his PS, Ms Benjamine Rose, the big names in the Seychelles Music scene informed the press on their planning for a tour of the region, before they venture further afield to the African mainland and then on to Europe.

The “Seychelles Big 5” group is set to start promoting their regional tour due to be held in some Indian Ocean countries namely , , Reunion, and in July next year.

The group was officially launched on Wednesday in a press conference organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. “Seychelles Big 5” is a group engaging five of Seychelles well known artists: Sandra Esparon (originally from Dezil), Jean Marc Volcy, Joseph Sinon, Elijah (Stephen Eliza) and Patrick Victor.

All these artists have performed in one or more neighboring countries, and most of them are well known individually for their music and performances in the countries where they have presented their production. It will be the first time though that they will all be seen on stage in one concert where they will be performing some of their best hits, and new singles.

Minister Alain St.Ange who is giving his full support to the project said to the press that his office will follow them closely, and providing logistical support in various countries where they will be visiting, networking with other countries and airlines to ensure the smooth running of their programme during their travels.

For those who are well versed in this business, history might be repeating itself, for a group of Seychellois artists managed to attempt such a trip in the early 80’s to promote Seychelles music. They were members of the National Troupe at the time. The difference this time is that the initiative was taken by the artists themselves: “I just had a dream one early morning, and I called others, they were all eager to be part of such an adventure” said Joseph Sinon “We feel that Seychelles is small and we need to go further and open up to the world, the five of us will make this first step, and another group can follow in the coming years ” such a step will be vital in promoting our culture in the form of Seychellois music.

“It is our duty to assist and support these artists where possible, for they are not doing this for themselves only but also for Seychelles, what is interesting is that the artists will not stop after this first tour, they will be considering to attempt another such mission on other continents such as Asia, Europe and mainland Africa, especially in emerging countries, where most of our tourists are originating from, they are putting our culture at the forefront of our destination marketing, and this is a favorable for Seychelles and its cultural tourism industry ” says Minister St.Ange.