An inaugural gospel sing-off will headline this year’s Emancipation Vigil ceremony in Montego Bay, St James, as part of Jamaica’s Emancipation Day observance on August 1.

The announcement was made by mayor and St James Municipal Corporation chairman, Councillor Richard Vernon, during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank at the agency’s Montego Bay Regional office.

The event will be held on Thursday, July 31, at Sam Sharpe Square in Montego Bay, beginning 8:00 pm, and will feature 10 church choirs from across the city and the wider St. James parish.

Vernon noted that the new gospel sing-off transforms the traditional vigil into a celebration that “blends heritage, culture, and religious experience”, under the theme ‘Be Proud, Be Bold in Black, Green, and Gold’.

“Our Emancipation movement has been grounded for many years in religion, particularly Christianity, and during that time of slavery we have several of the churches that played several different roles in emancipation of slavery in Jamaica,” he explained.

“Christianity became a full practice of the descendants that we had from Africa, and that blended into some level of Afro-Christianity and, of course, evolved over the years where we have embraced it,” he added.

A grand prize of $200,000 will be awarded to the winning church choir, while the runner-up will receive $100,000, along with medals and trophies, based on creativity, innovation, and ability to interpret the historical Emancipation experience through the lens of Christianity.

This year’s event will also feature a heritage and culture market organised by Social Development Commission (SDC) under its Local Economic Initiative (LEI) programme.

Councillor Vernon said vendors will showcase traditional Jamaican products, including grater cakes, chocolate tea, crafts, and fashion.

“We want persons to come out and embrace the gospel experience. We know we come out for everything else. We come out for the dancers; we come out for the reggae. So I want them to come out for the gospel concert and the gospel competition, and come out and support the churches,” he emphasised.

The vigil will retain its traditional elements, including the lighting of the torch and the midnight reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by the Custos Rotulorum for St James.

Annual Emancipation and Independence activities begin today with a church service at Blessed Hope Assembly Church of Christ of Jamaica in Copperwood, St James, starting at 10:00 am.