Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards last night called for Government to reveal how much of a success last year's Music Festival was in terms of visitors and cash.

More than $2 million was spent on acts including Beyonce and Alicia Keys, but the profitability of the event — and how many people it attracted to Bermuda — has never been released, despite requests.

Mr. Richards, whose call for the event to be scrapped in the light of the economic crisis was ignored last summer, told The Royal Gazette: "Clearly, it's unacceptable for them to be ducking and diving.

"If you use public funds you have to try to show people that this is generating visitor revenue. They are under an obligation to show that is working.

"They have had a few years of this lavish spending under Premier Brown. I think people of Bermuda deserve to know how much they are getting back for it in bucks.

"We also want to know how much bucks are being spent. Just the cost of the acts isn't good enough. In addition to that there's the celebrities that are espied in various booths that don't pay their own way."

Mr. Richards, who said he did not attend the festival because it wasn't his kind of music and he could watch Beyonce on the television anyway, said he stood by his call for it to be stopped.

"Under the current circumstances, unless they can show that we have gotten some really terrific return on our investment here, this is an area we can look at to save money," he said.

The Music Festival took place last October and the acts were warmly welcomed by Bermuda residents, while Government has claimed that big stars help put the Island on the map.

However, since it finished the Department of Tourism and the Premier's Press Secretary Glenn Jones have not responded to requests regarding how many tourists it attracted and how much money it generated.

The Royal Gazette's A Right To Know: Giving People Power campaign is calling for freedom of information legislation which would give people the right to get answers to questions from public officials about matters which affect them.