The fallout from the death of music icon Byron Lee in November last year, continues with dreadful news for carnival lovers across the region. Hundreds of Caribbean fans of his annual Jamaica Carnival have had to shelve their plans, following official confirmation that there will be none this year. This news jolted the regional community, prompting a flood of reports in regional media houses, stretching as far as the BBC.

The organizers cancelled the event due to the heavy toll his death had on them, in addition to some economic factors. His widow, Sheila Lee, said the family has not yet recovered from Lee’s death, and planning was difficult under those conditions. "We really wanted to stage one (carnival) this year because we know that is what The Dragon (Byron) would have wanted, but the pain of our loss makes it impossible for us to do justice to his work," she said in a statement.

In addition to this blow, the current downturn in world economic activity also gave the team its curtain call. President of Jamaica Carnival Julianne Lee-Samuels, who is also Byron's daughter, said sponsorship has dried up, and with a high cost of producing the event, it would make no economic sense. She told THE GLEANER newspaper that "given the current economic situation in which many companies are struggling and people are losing their jobs, we should not press corporate Jamaica to provide the level of funding we needed to mount Jamaica Carnival effectively this year…In light of such funding constraints, we decided to observe a season of silence as a mark of respect for the passing of our founder." The carnival would have been 20 years old this year, but the organizers say the 21st anniversary will definitely be celebrated in 2010.

Joining the voices feeling the empty space left by the music giant is Trinidadian Destra Garcia. She also told Jamaican media that her experience in Jamaica was not the same without Byron Lee.

"Byron Lee is definitely going to be missed. His spirit represents carnival and his spirit is still with us. He is the person that brought me here for the first time so I will always remember him," Garcia said.

Some feel that Jamaica Carnival this year would have been the perfect event to celebrate Lee’s contributions to music, but the magnitude of his passing seemed too great to overcome. Twenty years of successfully staging the carnival is not easy to attain, so arguably only an event equally as big could be able to stop it.