Peter Kanhai, chairman of the National Carnival Commission (NCC), was met with boos from the audience during his speech at the official opening of the John Cupid Village on Thursday night at the Queen’s Park Savannah. Minister of Culture and Community Development Michelle Benjamin, who was expected to speak, did not take the stage.

The event included a performance by Ainsley King, president of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO), after which host Thaddeus Jardine, also known as Thaddy Boom, invited the audience to stand for the national anthem. Attendees expressed their displeasure with audible shouts of “nah.”

When Kanhai was called to the stage, the crowd remained silent instead of applauding. Attempting to address the unrest, Kanhai told the audience: