There's a war on over the Battle of Flowers

Tuesday 14 April 2015

Radical options including diverting the Battle of Flowers through the town centre, starting and ending it from Peoples’ Park, shifting it to the spring or autumn and getting rid of the Miss Battle pageant have been floated in a report aimed to shift its focus from tourism to a major community event.

The report by an independent consultant also highlights major problems in relationships between the volunteers and organisations that take part and the organising committee, particularly the long-standing chairman Tony Perkins.

Some of the exhibitors have said that the event is no longer “fit for purpose” and are pushing for changes – the report itself says that “deep-rooted” reforms are needed, and that there are questions over whether changes recommended in another independent report in 2006 have even been implemented.

A particular concern for exhibitors is the complicated rulebook that stops some parishes being able to compete and makes the judging process too complex and not transparent enough.

The first Battle of Flowers took place in 1902 to mark the coronation of King Edward VII – in the 1950s and 1960s it was the centrepiece of the tourism calendar. But the dwindling of the tourism industry and changes in the market that the Island attracts means its increasingly irrelevant as a tourism event – the report says that while funding from the States is vital, it should not come from the tourism-focussed Economic Development department.

The report – which cost £5,400 – included the following findings:

• “A great many questions have been raised throughout this process which remain unanswered, in particular regarding the current allocation of funds to the Association; are all those who benefit from funding allocation members of the Association; the overall governance of the Association; the overall event costs; the judging process and more. “

• “Unfortunately, there seems to have been a quite serious breakdown in the communication between the exhibitors and the current board which has led to a fractious relationship where neither party are satisfied they are being well represented. This dissatisfaction only goes to further the divide between the two parties that are currently essential to the successful running of the event.”

• “The [Town Constable] was willing to explore the possibility of a town centre parade - he saw the potential commercial benefit to local retailers; keeping people within the proximity of the shopping area would mean the retailers wouldn’t be losing custom, as they currently do.”