Sting Festival

The Sting is the world's largest one-day held Reggae - and dancehall - Festival . It takes place annually between December 26th and 27th at the Jamworld Entertainment Center in Portmore in Parish Saint Catherine , Jamaica . The Sting is the longest running reggae and dancehall festival on earth. The first Sting Festival took place on December 26, 1983. For Jamaican dancehall and reggae artists, it is the most important event of the year. The organizer is the Jamaican concert promoter Isaiah Laing . The festival was sponsored by the Guinness Brewery for many years and was accordingly called the Guinness Sting . In 2004 the Miami Sting took place in Miami, USA. It offered the same concept as the original. Since 2010, the main sponsor has been the Jamaican television and telecommunications company LIME . The company broadcast the event directly on the Internet.

concept

The artists appear on a single large stage. The program is divided under the names "Newcomer" , "Ladys Corner" or "Bad Girls" , "The Warriors" and "Clash" . Newcomers to dancehall begin, followed by female artists. The Warriors are the well-known greats of reggae and dancehall. In the area Clash , the year virtually forms the climax of the festival, contact known dancehall artists in the so-called Deejay - Battle against each other. There are several clashes every year. Some of them have become famous outside of Jamaica, such as B. the repeated clashes between Bounty Killer and Beenie Man or Ninjaman .

Trivia

The conflict between the Deejays Bounty Killer and Beenie Man is world-famous and showed itself in the form of aggressive clashes on the Sting for years.
The Deejay Ninjaman has been referred to as the Clash King for many years. He later gave this title to Bounty Killer.
At older sting events, the repeated clashes between the deejays Shabba Ranks and Ninjaman should be mentioned.
Many artists offer an extraordinary performance that is different from their others, e.g. B. in the form of special clothing or gimmicks during the performance.
In 2004, the artist Elephant Man was lifted onto the stage with a large crane with a platform and made part of his appearance above the audience.
In 2010, the artist Bounty Killer failed to perform for the first time in almost two decades because the advance payment on his fee had not been paid.
In 2012, the Deejay Ninjaman took part in a clash for the first time in five years. Until 2007 he was one of the artists who performed regularly.
In 2013, Sizzla was warned several times by the organization not to sing songs with homophobic content before his appearance at the Sting Festival in Portemore, Jamaica, where he has been one of the main acts for years. After publicly speaking on stage, he was banned from appearing at the event for life. Other well-known artists were also banned from performing for life, including D'Angel , who had spread her legs wide apart during her performance with the Deejay Ninjaman .