TODAY, 20 years since its inception, organiser of International Reggae Day (IRD) Andrea Davis said she is pleased with the festival’s growth despite several setbacks.

“We have seen the growth and increase of young acts and the media have embraced and placed more focus on the genre,” she said.

She, however, stated that although reggae music is meaningful on the international scene it is still unappreciated by Jamaicans. This, she said, is evident in the lack of sponsorship.

“For the past two years, we have stopped asking for sponsorship as it is like pulling out a tooth. No one wants to get on board so now we just use the support of the reggae artistes and the media,” Davis told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

International Reggae Day is a 24-hour global media festival celebrating the best of Jamaica’s creativity and its impact on culture worldwide. According to Davis, the gesture that began in 1994 is the first ever calender event to be officially proclaimed and dedicated to reggae music.

The celebrations that started from mid-day yesterday will salute the late Peter Tosh with the icon award while Sly and Robbie will be honoured with the living legends award.

Today, persons are reminded to wear reggae colours, plant a tree or tune into the reggae stations worldwide in recognition of the day. Among the local stations that will host programmes dedicated to the music are Mello FM, TVJ, IRIE FM and Mega Jamz.