NEW ORLEANS — Since 2017, a nationwide audience has shared New Year’s Eve with New Orleans.
Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser’s office first approached Dick Clark Productions about including the annual festivities in Jackson Square on its popular Rockin’ Eve broadcast.
“You know the end of the year, people are thinking about what’s my New Orleans resolution and honey, where are we going to go on vacation next year,” Nungesser said.
The Louisiana Office of Tourism and others, including the city and New Orleans and Company, put up hundreds of thousands of dollars to subsidize the cost of the live telecast.
When the show decided to go elsewhere this year, a local radio host suggested Rockin’ Eve dropped the Crescent City because of its crime problems.
Governor-Elect Jeff Landry retweeted the comments made by the radio show host.
Not true says New Orleans and Company President and CEO Walt Leger.
“It was never communicated that, that was an issue,” Leger said. “In fact, they loved being here. They wanted to continue to be here, they just wanted to receive a financial subsidy.”
Leger explained why his convention and tourism organization decided against paying the subsidy this year.
“Other stations started producing other events in other cities at the same time and in the same time zone and so there was enhanced competition for eyeballs and honestly over the course of a couple of years the amount of time that Louisiana and the city were receiving in the production to promote our city and our state seemed to be diminishing,” Leger said.
Lt. Gov. Nungesser says his office hasn’t sponsored the event since Mayor Latoya Cantrell demanded singer and Louisiana native Lauren Daigle be pulled from the show three years ago.
This followed Daigle’s participation in a pop-up Christian concert in the Quarter in violation of the city’s Covid restrictions at the time.
“We’re surely open to partnering going forward and bringing that event back if we can do it in a way that promotes all the good of Louisiana.” Nungesser said.
In the meantime, there are other New Year’s events in New Orleans attracting a national audience this year.
“You’ve got extensive coverage that we’ll be getting from a national semi-final football game, Texas and Washington coming into the city,” Leger said. “A lot of excitement around that. We’re projecting 95 percent occupancy on New Year’s Eve. And an NBA game with the Pelicans playing on New Year's Eve.”
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