Patrons entering Kensington Oval for the upcoming International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Twenty20 competition, will be doing so in a secure environment.
This was underscored recently by Programme Officer of the Department of Emergency Management, Simon Alleyne.
He said: "For the World Twenty20 cricket tournament, we’ll be working with the Royal Barbados Police Force and the Ministry of Health with regard to security, health and safety."
Mr. Alleyne advised persons coming to the games to be familiar with the exit points. "Patrons coming to Twenty20 cricket need to be familiar with the signage for the escape routes, so that if something had to happen, they will know how to get the fastest way out of the stands into a safe area.
"The first thing to do is to get people through an emergency exit. Every stand has its own emergency escape route, so we’ll be trying to get people out of Kensington Oval as fast as possible through blow out gates that are located around Kensington Oval," he added.
With the competition’s matches days away, officials have given the assurance that everything is in a state of readiness.
??"… Before the event, we had an on location simulation exercise, to gauge the time it would take to evacuate the stadiums as well as to the response time for us to get down to the crowd," the official explained.
The ICC Twenty20 Cricket Tournament has already started, with the men’s and women’s finals slated for Barbados on May 16 from 9:30 a.m.
The lively atmosphere dubbed ???sportainment’ will reflect the true Caribbean spirit, with choreographed dance routines, music from all genres and anthem ceremonies. In addition, there will also be competitions and give-aways for fans. There will also be an all-inclusive Party Stand.
Icons Mac Fingall of Barbados and Gravy of Antigua will be on hand to maintain the upbeat ambiance throughout the stadium.