They started trickling in at 3pm but by sundown the Fond d’Or Heritage Park had been transformed into a huge sea of colour. Still, the colour green seemed quite prominent since many had stuck to the colour code for the fifth annual Heineken Green Synergy DJ Competition.

Eleven DJs were set to do battle for the prestigious title of Heineken Green Synergy DJ Champion, one of the main summer long events here in St Lucia. Before the main event however, the crowd was treated to entertainment from guest DJ Levi Chin who truly executed his magic on the audience with his selection of popular hits. But it was not only his music selection that did the trick. His use of the microphone as well as an exuberance of confidence made him more of a main act than simply a DJ. The likes of DJ Spy and DJ Chubby from Power Plus also kept the crowd entertained.

With the theme “DJ makes the music, you make the moves,” the event saw a combination of popular dances both on stage and with the audience, as well as a wide variety of music coming from the DJ’s and the “live” performers. Among the performers were Platinum George, Ilaman and Ricky T. Then it was the announcement of the finalists who were introduced by MC Pringles and escorted on stage by the lovely Heineken Girls. They were all presented with plaques by Heineken brand manager Dexter Percil. The judges who would score the DJs on their music selection, crowd response, cross-over mixing and technique, were then introduced: Hector Selector, DJ Eddie, McNaughton McClean, Michael Peterkin and head judge Toni Nicholas.

Then to arousing fanfare sometime after 7pm, it was show-time, with the first DJ to touchdown being DJ HP. Knocked out of the competition at his first attempt last year, due to the use of profanity in one of his selections, HP looked like he was out for business. Looking quite confident and comfortable he had the audience eating out of his hands from start to finish. Next up was DJ Quaine, who is no stranger to the competition having competed many times before. This year however he showed a marked improvement in his choice of music and blending of songs.

DJ Scratch, who has come close to winning the title before, did not execute his best performance on Sunday. Known for his flexibility using turntables and vinyl, he opted for CD players this year and did not appear as comfortable. Another DJ who has been consistent, placing in the top three was DJ Ikon. This year however, he may have lost key points, unable to sustain great reaction from the audience. He was however quite clinical in some of the other key areas and displayed a great sense and understanding of showmanship.

DJ Buzz, the defending champion on the night, also did not step up to the plate to score the much-needed homerun. The DJ which was brimming over with confidence on the night was Swall-I, who thrilled his audience with his technique, selections, flair and his dancing. Outside of this the other DJ’s; Fabulous Kid, Six Four, Mega B, Rocket Launcher and Poison all appeared average for the most part.

Besides lots of specials on the night by the main sponsors Heineken and Digicel this year Heineken Green Synergy initiated the water-break which was intended to keep patrons hydrated by drinking water. Bottled water was provided by Paradise Springs at breaks of 15-minute intervals during the events and Sunday’s finals was no different. During these breaks no alcohol was sold and the company also emphasized the prohibition of sale of alcohol to minors.

The large crowd which showed all signs of coming out to party were still in that mode after the competition and were entertained whilst the judges deliberated by Scratch-master of St Vincent. But their wait was no more than half an hour with the handing over of the results to MC Pringles.

The final tally showed that DJ Swall-I was the new Heineken Green Synergy DJ Champion with DJ HP coming in second and Quaine third. The DJs were presented with their prizes by Heineken Brand manager Dexter Percil. Swall-I receives a complete table top with MP3 CD Players, Mixer and flight ready case. He will also receive EC$2,000 and will represent St Lucia at the group finals on Saturday September 27 at Samaans Park which will feature DJ’s from St Lucia, St Maarten, USVI, Guadeloupe, Dominica and Martinique. Two DJ’s from this group will go on to participate in the regional finals in Curacao in October. Percil says he was pleased with the overall production of the event and the level of support St Lucians have shown towards Heineken Green Synergy. He also thanked the partners Digicel, HTS and Party Access for coming on board this year