THE Manx Government is not financially exposed to losses caused by the cancellation of this year's Bay Festival.
That's according to Chief Minister Tony Brown who was speaking in the House of Keys this morning (Tuesday).
He was responding to a question posed by Peel MHK Tim Crookall who asked how much money government would lose through sponsorship or advertising due to the Bay Festival being cancelled.
Mr Brown said the government did not have any financial involvement with the festival but pointed out that the Isle of Man Post Office had chosen to sponsor part of the festival at an unknown cost.
The Post Office announced in March that it was involved with bringing over the Irish band Westlife as part of the festival.
When isleofman.com asked for details of this involvement commercial director Lisa Duckworth told us: "The Post Office has a formal sponsorship committee with clear aims and objectives on which to base sponsorship decisions.
"The committee creates an effective, transparent process within Isle of Man Post Office by considering and deciding upon requests based on a set criteria.
"This committee has a budget of £5,000 per annum.
"We are delighted to support the Manx Telecom Bay Festival which the committee believes provides clear benefits for the post office. A commercial agreement has been agreed between ourselves and the festival organisers and I believe it is not appropriate to disclose details of this."
Today a spokesperson for the Post Office said:"Isle of Man Post Office was a sponsor of the Manx Telecom Bay Festival in relation to the Westlife concert. However we believe the publicity and raised awareness of our products and services via advertising so far has outweighed the initial cost."
