Davina Henry, Staff Reporter

Although it was one of the most successful parties over the Emancipation-Independence weekend, Marco Polo has officially been removed from the Rum Bar Flex Week line-up.

In a release to THE STAR, Marie-Liese George, administrator of Flex Week, stated that they made the decision to remove Marco Polo because they did not conform to business ethics.

"Flex Week would like to advise that Marvin Lawrence, his promotional company, Lawless Events, and by extension his event, Marco Polo, have been removed from Flex Week, and as such, cannot conduct any business on Flex Week's behalf or claim any association with Flex Week," the release stated.

It further claimed that the decision was made due to various factors, including the fact that patrons had become disgruntled by the fact that beverages and supplies had been insubstantial at previous events.

The release continued, "Flex Week finds it impossible to associate with a person, promotional company, and event that do not conform to business ethics".

When contacted, Fabian O'Hara, one of the promoters of Marco Polo, told THE STAR that they had no issues as far as the event was concerned because they complied with all the rules.

He added that they were also unaware of the bar running out of supplies. "Rum Bar and our brand manager were in constant dialogue the entire time, so once supplies were low, they would have communicated with each other and the bars would have been restocked almost immediately. Our bars usually run low quick because of the number of patrons, but there are always mechanisms in place to get the bar restocked quickly."

O'Hara also told THE STAR that they had only received positive feedback from their loyal supporters who are eagerly anticipating the next staging of the event.

"We don't see ourselves joining with any other weekend. It's business as usual for us. The next staging of Marco Polo will be on Heroes Monday, so we are just focusing on brand Marco Polo and brand Lawless Events. We are rebuilding and taking it to the top," he said.

Efforts to contact a representative from Rum Bar, the sponsors of Flex Week, were unsuccessful.