Whatever else anyone may say about him, Premier and Tourism Minister Dr. Ewart Brown knows how to throw a party, especially when he is not paying for it.

The Bermuda Music Festival, which ended on Saturday, was well organised, boasted some of the biggest singing stars in the world, gave Bermudian performers a chance to shine and was well attended.

Aside from the weather – and the time has surely come to move this festival to a time when the weather is more predictable – few people who attended the concerts will be able to find much fault with them.

If those were the only criteria on which the festival was to be judged, then, it would be counted a tremendous success. But they are not. First, the public has no idea how much the event has cost, beyond the cost of the acts themselves, which was $2.2 million.

But the cost of promoting the event, the infrastructure of the stage and so on will have added much more. The public has the right to know how much and how much was recouped; in other words, how much of this is being footed by the taxpayer?

Even assuming that Bermuda took a loss on the Festival, and it's a reasonable assumption, it can be argued that the Island benefits from the tourists who visit the island for the event and the money they spend. And then there is the latter benefit from the exposure that an event like this gives the Island around the world.

Again, no figures have been released for the number of visitors either at the concerts or those who expressly visited the Island for it. But it certainly was not as many as expected since promoter Rock Newman was forced to take tickets originally earmarked for sale to tourists and release them to the local market.

And attendees at the concerts have said they did not see many people who were noticeably visitors. But Government has an obligation to say just how many tickets were sold abroad.

As for international exposure, searches of popular search engines suggest it has been pretty limited so far. That may change, but it certainly is not $2.2 million worth in "free" publicity.

Another way of testing that exposure would be to look at how many people have come to Bermuda for the Festival this year compared to past years. The reckoning here is that the increase, if any, has been pretty small.

It may also be that Bermuda benefits throughout the year from the exposure garnered from the event. But in the first six months of 2008, Bermuda experienced the worst first half of the year in any of at least the last 28 years, so one has to question the effectiveness of the event. And although the US economy was deteriorating in the first half of the year, it had by no means reached the crisis status it is in now.

Roman Emperors used to hand out bread and circuses to the famously riot-prone Roman mob. The bread was free and kept stomachs full. The circuses kept the public entertained.

People who are fat and happy don't typically riot. The promise of free public transport, affordable health care for seniors and free day care is hardly the same as free food, and $100 tickets for the BMF is not the same thing as the free chance to watch gladiators slaughter each other before wild animals devoured Christians.

But the principle isn't that different. If Bermudians are being kept fat and happy by Dr. Brown's government they at least deserve to know at what cost.