Office of the Prime Minister

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A 'One Love' Jamaica Village will be set up at the Cable and Wireless Golf Academy and the National Housing Trust (NHT) car park in New Kingston from March 12 to 24, to accommodate locals and visitors, especially on 'off match' days.

Some 120 craft and food vendors are expected to be located in the village, and the food courts in particular, are designed to offer a wide selection of Jamaican cuisine to reflect the diversity of the nation's unique atmosphere.

"We believe that this space is designed in a way that it is generously supported through sponsorship, and will facilitate a good practical engagement of the Jamaican population and visitors in the non-cricket activities, in a secure and properly managed environment," Executive Director of the Jamaica Local Organising Committee (LOC), Robert Bryan said at a recent press conference, held at his office on Oxford Road.

The village will also have closed circuit facilities for showing live cricket on big screens, secured for the venue. Patrons will also have the opportunity to utilize wireless internet, which will be available throughout the space with all the various services related to those activities.

Live concerts showcasing the very best of Jamaican entertainment will be held at the village on March 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22. On March 12, South African Reggae Superstar, Lucky Dube and the Duffy Brothers from Ireland are slated to perform, while on March 14, 16 and 18, a concert series, dubbed 'Jamaica Rocks the World', will take place.

Mr. Bryan said that the 'Jamaica Rocks the World' concert series, will showcase in an integrated manner, the best of Jamaica's fashion, beauty and music.

Fever pitch parties will also be the order of the day on match days. These will take place after the matches. "Actually, every single day [during the opening period], there is an extensive activity taking place at the village," he informed, adding that lunch and other daytime activities would be driven by community and sponsor participation. There will also be live and delayed broadcasts from the venue.

The space will also accommodate family activities. "This is again focused on ensuring that the widest participation takes place within the village," he explained.

An information desk will be set up within the space, so that at any point in time, visitors may seek information.

In terms of assistance on the project, Mr. Bryan said that partnerships continue to grow and this is apart from title sponsors Cable and Wireless and Scotiabank. Providing support are the Jamaica Business Development Centre (JBDC), JAMPRO, the Social Development Commission (SDC) and also private sector entities, such as Red Stripe.

"We would have hoped that we could have done a number of other villages of this nature, but the limited resources available has resulted in us focusing on what we believe is a fairly extensive outlay here," he said.

Under the Yellow Package of the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007, Jamaica will host four warm-up matches from March 5 to 9 and the opening ceremony on March 11 at the Trelawny multipurpose stadium.

Some six first round matches, including the opening match of the tournament between the West Indies and Pakistan, will be played at Sabina Park on March 13, in addition to a semi-final match.

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