An event as big as Respect Jamaica 50th, stretching across twelve days, slap-bang-in-the-middle of the London 2012 Olympics, is never going to run like clockwork. But none of that matters if the people are entertained. So it was on Thursday night – when the sheer power of modern reggae’s favourite son Tarrus Riley (with his mentor Dean Fraser) and the BLAKSOIL band wiped away a few earlier minor logistical irritations, proving that when music hits, everything falls into line. 
By day nine of the celebrations, the neighbouring Olympics was taking its toll. The heavily forewarned transport and congestion issues – remarkably absent at the start of the games – seemed to kick in. Traffic came to a standstill in parts of central London, and huge numbers of spectators pouring out of the main o2 arena from the gymnastics meant tickets and passes took longer to be collected from the understaffed box office than usual. It didn’t help that the show, clearly under a weekday curfew, started at seven thirty sharp – meaning Reggaeville was unable to reach the smaller Indigo2 in time to see the opening set by London’s progressive roots singer Natty. Moreover, one of the most interesting acts originally advertised on the bill – Jamaican music/performance art/comedy polymaths No Maddz – did not appear for reasons unknown.
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