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The 2008 Vodafone Hibiscus Festival raised $233,361.61 in its charity drive, an increase of $50,000 from last year.
And Hibiscus organizing committee chairman Dhansukh Lal Bhika said the committee was expecting to double the overall profit this year when all the money is collected.
In his speech at the Hibiscus crowning ceremony Saturday night, Bhika said more than 250,000 people were estimated to have graced Albert Park this week, making the festival the largest annual event in the country.
“I said earlier today isn’t this the real Fiji … the Fiji that we love – and I say again – that no event seems to bring everyone together in Fiji like the Hibiscus Festival, which is one of our main objectives.
"Tonight, like last year, the Vodafone Hibiscus 2008 Festival crowning ceremony is being streamed live to the world via the Internet through our partners, FijiLive."
“Next year, we hope to involve all of you overseas in voting for a special Miss Hibiscus category through FijiLive.”
According to Bhika, from humble beginnings in 1956, the Hibiscus Festival has grown and diversified – now 52 years on, the festival has grown into one of the largest – if not the largest - community festivals in the South Pacific.
He said the lives of the many contestants will have changed this week, never mind who wins, and many new friendships forged.
The staging of the Hibiscus Festival is important as it gives the citizens of this magnificent city something to celebrate while meeting our other objectives of raising money for charity, beautifying Suva and attracting more visitors, he said.
Bhika added that while there has been much criticism that the Festival has become too commercialised, without the support of everyone involved either as sponsors or in organising the event, “we would have found it extremely difficult indeed to organise an event of this magnitude”.
