KOTA KINABALU: The Sepilok Jazz Festival has grown in leaps and bounds since its first edition five years ago, when it drew just 130 attendees, to last year’s total of 2,200.
Spokesperson and founder of the Festival, Alexander Yee said he had embraced the challenge of developing the festival and worked to ensure positive results.
He believes, however, that more can be done to elevate it to world-class status.
“Our challenge is simple: to become a world-class event we need strong, world-class sponsorship,” he said.
Good musicians come from all over the world, not only Malaysia, and can be expensive to bring in, he added.
If visiting artists charged their full fees, the organisers would not be able to afford them. Because the festival is linked to sea turtle conservation, performers such as Jeremy Montero and Shilla gave substantial discounts, he said.
Sepilok Jazz cannot yet be compared in popularity with long-established tourism or cultural events, but it is recognised on the Sandakan Tourism Calendar, Sabah Tourism Calendar and Malaysia Tourism Calendar.
“Compare us at five years old and we should be right up there,” he said.
Yee said the Sepilok Jazz Festival contributes to both conservation and tourism.
Tourism, a major sector in the state economy, is boosted by events that attract domestic and international visitors.
Conservation benefits from the knowledge shared at such events and from their proceeds. The proceeds go directly towards funding the sea turtle hatcheries operated by Friends of Sea Turtles Education and Research (FOSTER) on Libaran Island.
Yee expressed optimism that these goals can be achieved with adequate funding.-pr/BNN
