1 week ago
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WESTERN BUREAU:
Dancehall artistes Tommy Lee and Shaneil Muir will headline Dream Weekend 2026 when the festival debuts in the city from July 30 to August 3.
After 16 years in Negril, the multi-day entertainment event – featuring at least eight parties, each with a major performer – is moving to the tourism capital, projecting an estimated $5 billion economic boost and $400 million in direct vendor spending.
The announcement came Wednesday evening at Pier One in Montego Bay, where organisers, city officials, and tourism leaders gathered to welcome the festival to its new home.
Dream Weekend, one of Jamaica’s largest party festivals, promises an upgraded experience in Montego Bay, with bigger venues, improved infrastructure, and enhanced entertainment and hospitality.
Dream Entertainment Chairman Kamal Bankay said the move was prompted by a lack of venue capacity in Negril following the closure and redevelopment of Kool Runnings Water Park.
“With the loss of Kool Runnings and our second-largest venue holding only about 7,000 people, we simply could not grow,” Bankay explained. “Montego Bay offers venues that can accommodate 20,000 to 30,000 patrons. This city gives us room to evolve.”
Festival Manager Ron Burke listed Harmony Beach Park, the Montego Bay Convention Centre (indoor and outdoor), and The Aqueduct among the venues being considered. “Harmony Beach Park is a fantastic venue, and the Convention Centre offers flexibility for both indoor and outdoor productions,” Burke said.
Scott Dunn, managing director of Dream Entertainment, said the festival’s relocation will inject approximately $5 billion into Montego Bay’s economy in 2026. That figure includes spending on accommodation, transportation, food, shopping, and entertainment by local and international patrons.
Of that total, $400 million will come directly from Dream Entertainment’s payments to vendors and suppliers for staging the event.
“With 14,000 to 15,000 hotel rooms in Montego Bay, and another 5,000 coming in the next few years, the city can host over 30,000 hotel guests,” Dunn said. “When you add villas, Airbnbs, and friends and family, the capacity exceeds 50,000 people.”
Bankay noted that DreamWeekend has also invested heavily in marketing overseas, especially in the UK, which now accounts for a significant share of international arrivals. “We even have a partnership with City Splash in London to cross-promote,” he added.
GAME CHANGER
Alisair Anderson, business development officer at the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), hailed the relocation as a “game changer.”
“From day one, the JTB has stood beside Dream Weekend,” Anderson said. “This move means opportunity for taxi drivers, tour operators, food vendors, and small businesses, not just hotels. Montego Bay will not just host Dream Weekend; we will breathe life into it. This is the boldness to dream bigger, the creativity to dream bolder, and the unity to dream together.”
Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon pledged the city’s full support, emphasising its readiness to host an event of this scale.
“Montego Bay has 30 per cent of Jamaica’s hotel rooms, processes 70 per cent of flights into the country, and has the largest airport in the English-speaking Caribbean,” Vernon said. “We have grown our infrastructure, hospitality, and public safety frameworks to seamlessly accommodate events of this magnitude.”
He pointed to the city’s declining homicide rate, now closer to eight per 100,000, as a sign of improved safety.
Jason Russell, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry concurred, adding that the business community had been advocating for the move for some time. “A few years ago, you wouldn’t think of having Dream here because of crime,” he said. “Now, with our new venues and infrastructure, it’s a reality. From the Chamber’s perspective, it’s 100 per cent go.”
While Muir and Tommy Lee, both Montego Bay natives, are the first performers announced, Bankay confirmed that at least eight major acts will be featured across the festival’s multiple events.
Patrons can expect an expanded format with both day and night parties, shuttle services from hotels to venues, and even boat transfers for select events. Food and beverage offerings will showcase some of Jamaica’s top restaurants, blending culinary excellence with the festival’s signature high-energy atmosphere.
Dream Weekend began in 2009 as a merger of popular party brands, including Daydreams, Wet N Wild, Twisted Spiritz, and Xtreme Wet N Wild.
For 16 years, it drew tens of thousands to Negril’s beaches, creating what Bankay described as “everlasting memories.”
“We are forever grateful to the people of Negril who helped us build this brand,” Bankay said. “But as we grow, we must evolve, and Montego Bay is the place to take Dream Weekend to the next level.”
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