Lionel Messi Event In Kolkata Lacked Detailed Minute-To-Minute Planning: Report

The GOAT Tour India opener in Kolkata at the Salt Lake Stadium, involving Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, his compatriot Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suarez lacked a customary minute-to-minute event flow,

eventually leading to ruckus at the Salt Lake Stadium, according to a report in Anandabazar Patrika.

For events of this scale, every minute is planned, a professional approach referred to as a ‘minute-to-minute event flow’. But no such plan existed for Messi’s appearance at the Salt Lake Stadium.

Attendees’ tickets even outline the program schedule in detail. According to the report, in this unplanned event, nothing of the sort was provided. There had not even been a rehearsal the day before.

For a ‘mega event’ featuring world-class football stars, the organisers couldn’t demonstrate even the most basic professionalism and it was not just Messi and Suárez; Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Shah Rukh Khan and Sourav Ganguly were also expected to attend.

While a rough draft of the program existed, there was no plan for when Messi would arrive, where he would stand or walk, how he would interact with the audience, or what he would do.

No one had a clear idea.

“We were only asked to provide 15 sofas and the sound system, nothing else. We ended up bearing significant losses ourselves,” a senior official from the event management company told Anandabazar Patrika. 

The agency added that a person named Laltu from chief organiser Satadru Dutta’s team was meant to coordinate with them, but repeated calls to him on Sunday, December 14, went unanswered.

The PR firm responsible for public relations stated that, aside from handling media communications, they weren’t assigned any other duties. Their role was limited to distributing 140 invitations.

The Sports Minister had already sensed signs of mismanagement a day before the event. On Friday, from 1 pm to 5 pm, Aroop Biswas waited at the Salt Lake Stadium to discuss the schedule with Dutta’s team, but they never showed up, according to the report.