SCORES of first-time attendees at Grand Gala, held at the National Stadium in St Andrew on Independence Day, went home feeling energised, inspired, and proud.

The island celebrated 63 years as an independent nation on Wednesday and celebrated the milestone with a massive cultural showcase which packed the National Stadium.

Declaring that she had never been to a Grand Gala before Wednesday, Tracyann Reid, who is category manager of personal care at Lasco, went home happy, with a broad smile.

“This is my first time and it was super amazing. I liked the performances. I am a little country girl from Clarendon who migrated to Kingston. I have always wanted to come to Grand Gala. The event was super amazing. It was well organised and very entertaining. It brought out all the excitement in my body to hear the different artistes perform and sing. I jumped along with Capleton “The Fireman”. Beres Hammond was the top performer of the night. The drone show was so amazing. I was in awe,” Reid told the
Jamaica Observer.

Her daughter, Tyana Reid, who is 10 years old, told the the Observer that she was so impressed by the dancing and the entire showcase that she is looking forward to participating in Grand Gala in 2026 as one of the cultural dancers.

It was also Trudyann Bocan’s first time attending Grand Gala and she took her 14-year-old daughter and her son with her.

“I was excited to come. My son recently had the topic at school so I wanted him to have the experience. It is super exciting to have this experience with my kids and friends. My favourite part for the night was the drone presentation and, of course, Rondell Positive. I want to say thank you to my friend Shanika McCalla Battiste who gave me two tickets to come here. She wanted me to take my son to have the experience,” Bocan explained.

Campionite Jayanna Brown, who is Bocan’s 14-year-old daughter, told the Observer that after seeing the fireworks, the dancing, listening to the various artistes perform, it inspired her to follow her passions, stay motivated, and do whatever she loves.

Travelling from Jointwood, St Elizabeth, for the Grand Gala was Sharline Davis who shared that she was born in 1962 when Jamaica became an independent nation.

Davis pointed out that it was her first time attending the event and she enjoyed herself. “I danced and shouted. Everything was nice,” said Davis.

In the meantime, Minister of Culture Olivia “Babsy” Grange said she felt good to know that the 2025 Grand Gala materialised into a good show and thanked her team for doing an excellent job in planning and seeing that it was well executed.

“I want to thank the people for turning out, and while we celebrated in the National Stadium with an exceptional show, great fireworks, great drone show, we had 11 locations across the island with fireworks tonight, mini-galas and street dances. The entire Jamaica celebrated Jamaica 63. Whatever we do, it is all about Jamaica and choosing Jamaica and being patriotic Jamaicans.

“A lot of work went into it. From early in the year we started with the festival of arts where we went into the schools and communities and we unearthed talent, developed and trained the talent, and they competed for medals. At the end of that we took the top performers, the medallists, and showcased them during the celebration. They performed in various activities and we had nightly events in the Independence Village, in the Indoor Centre, and then it culminated with this. We had over 4,500 cast members who participated in this exciting performance,“ said Grange.

“We drew the participants from various communities in the plains of St Catherine and Kingston and St Andrew. The uniform groups participated as well. All the artistic, creative people, the dressmaker, the tailor, even the vendors benefited. There is an economy called the festival economy and they are at the centre of it. I will have to do the study and then I can tell you a dollar figure.

“The study would be about the overall economic impact it has had both in terms of what we spent and how the funds trickle down and how communities benefit,” added Grange as she declared that she wants Jamaicans to always remember to be bold and proud.

“Don’t just celebrate Jamaica 63 in the stadium, but celebrate Jamaica all the time, and all the time choose Jamaica,” Grange said.

Beres Hammond in action at Grand Gala on Wednesday. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

A unicyclist entertains the massive crowd at Grand Gala on Wednesday. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

Minister of Culture Olivia “Babsy” Grange (left) shares lens time with House Speaker and Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Rural Juliet Holness at Grand Gala on Wednesday. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

Trudyann Bocan (right) with her 14-year-old daughter and her son attending Grand Gala for the first time (Photo: Jason Cross)