Hundreds of people from around the world marched through Suva on March 28, 1998, on the eve of the finale of the World Festival of Praise. According to The Fiji Times, festival secretary Mikaele Mudreilagi remarked that while attendance was lower than the inaugural festival in 1997, the event was a significant success from a spiritual perspective.
Minister for Youth Jonetani Kaukimoce addressed the crowd at Sukuna Park, where they gathered for three hours of singing, dancing, and devotional speeches. He highlighted the government’s support for the festival, particularly its engagement with young people.
Mr. Mudreilagi discussed the participation of children, noting that they were involved only after school hours, from 6 to 8.30 pm, and then sent home. “During the day, they do not come here. But to be honest, we have to expect some opposition to anything good,” he said.
He also mentioned the economic benefits of the festival, stating, “In an event such as this, money is a definite spin-off. But for us, that is a blessing to the nation as a whole. Whether you are speaking in terms of the economy, in terms of increased visitor arrivals, in terms of benefits to the transport and accommodation sectors, they are still blessings.”
In 1997, the festival had generated around $25,000 from gate takings, registration fees, and programs, but still incurred a loss. The costs of hiring facilities, transport, sound equipment, lighting, and stage facilities contributed to this deficit. “This year, we are looking forward to at least breaking even. But we are praying that there will be some left over, so we can use that to prepare for the next festival since this is an ongoing thing,” said Mr. Mudreilagi.
The next Festival of Praise was scheduled from December 26, 1999, to January 2, 2000, to capitalize on the interest associated with the new millennium. He explained, “The whole idea was to bring Christians from all over the world to celebrate with Christians in Fiji. Fiji has a strategic position in being one of the first nations to experience the first day of the new millennium.”
Plans were still in development, but Mr. Mudreilagi outlined two options for the following year: a smaller celebration in December or a large celebration in March followed by a smaller one in December. The primary reason for potentially scaling down the December event was that overseas visitors had already made bookings for unrelated events, raising concerns about hotel room availability for festival attendees. “International awareness has been encouraging as can be seen from the increase in the number of countries involved in this year’s celebrations, but there may not be enough planes to bring visitors here,” he added.