Amidst one of the most severe financial crises in decades, Pan Trinbago president Beverly Ramsey-Moore has pledged unwavering commitment to safeguarding Trinidad and Tobago’s steelpan heritage. The declaration came during the 2026 Panorama Single Pan finals at Queen’s Park Savannah on November 29, where the cultural event proceeded despite devastating sponsorship withdrawals and diminished government support.
The crisis deepened recently when state-owned Heritage Petroleum terminated its sponsorship of Skiffle and Siparia Deltones steelbands, following similar withdrawals by NGC months earlier. This funding collapse has left multiple community bands struggling to prepare for upcoming medium and large band categories, threatening both their competitive viability and organizational survival.
Ramsey-Moore addressed a modest but devoted audience with defiant rhetoric, emphasizing the steelpan’s profound social significance. “Pan keeps our youths in line and out of trouble. When you invest in pan, you invest in our future,” she asserted, highlighting how young people now constitute the majority of players, finding discipline and purpose through the instrument.
The Single Pan finals proceeded with remarkable resilience, featuring 25 finalists from 48 auditioning bands—the highest participation in recent years. Defending champions San Juan East Side Symphony secured their ninth title, maintaining the unchanged first prize of $275,000 despite the financial turmoil.
Ramsey-Moore invoked the instrument’s revolutionary origins, born from discarded oil drums by visionary pioneers who created the twentieth century’s only invented acoustic instrument. “The steelpan is a living monument of resilience, creativity, and community,” she declared, framing the current struggle as continuation of a legacy “built with fire, forged with courage, and sustained through generations.”
With cultural allocations shrinking, the president issued a direct appeal to corporate Trinidad and Tobago: “Support a steelband in your community. Invest in our heritage.” She emphasized that sponsorship represents not luxury but necessity for community-based bands.
National Carnival Commission chairman Peter Kanhai reinforced institutional support, acknowledging the single pan category’s significance despite its modest size. Linking to the 2026 Carnival theme ‘Yuh Go Love Dis’, he affirmed the steelpan’s role as a foundational element making Trinidad and Tobago’s festival globally captivating.
As Panorama preparations continue, the community confronts the paradox of artistic excellence amid financial precarity, testing whether corporate Trinidad will answer the call to preserve this unique cultural legacy.