Road show vs. ground show

The ruling SLPP is the only major party to have reserved a public ground in Colombo for a May Day rally this year.

Commenting on the matter, SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam told the Sunday Times that this was because other parties knew that they would not be able to attract enough of a crowd to fill a big ground.

“It’s very easy to make a crowd seem larger than it actually is by holding a rally over a small area along a narrow public road. That’s why they are doing it,” he claimed.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna-led National People’s Power (NPP) will hold its rally on the road near Colombo’s Town Hall. Mr. Kariyawasam noted that the NPP’s rally would begin from a public ground, but the rally itself would be held on the road. The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) too has said no to a ground and is holding its May Day rally on the road near Hilton Hotel and Lake House. The United National Party (UNP) too will hold its rally on the road near the Elphinstone Theatre, the SLPP General Secretary pointed out.

He claimed the SLPP would have reserved Galle Face Green, but since it is no longer given to host public rallies, the party decided to reserve the second biggest Colombo venue, Campbell Park. “We are confident that we will have enough people to fill that ground. Other parties don’t have that confidence. That is why they are holding their rallies on the road.”

In response, a senior UNP member, however, said that most parties no longer hold their rallies on public grounds. This is because, in the age of social media, they can use drones to easily fly over the streets to get dramatic shots of the crowd and then make those visuals go viral. The other advantage of holding a rally on a road is that people can easily disperse and go back to their homes once the rally ends, he added.