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Ghana has been announced as the latest destination for Move Afrika – the new annual, multi-country tour bidding to change the face of live entertainment in Africa.
Created by international advocacy organisation Global Citizen, the pan-African touring circuit debuted last month in Rwanda with a headline performance by Kendrick Lamar at the sold-out BK Arena in Kigali. The Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper’s creative imprint pgLang will serve as curator of Move Afrika up to 2028.
Each year, additional countries will be added to the tour schedule, which aims to expand to three countries in 2024, and five countries by 2025. Its return to Rwanda has already been confirmed, with Accra, Ghana now also coming on board as a host city this year.
“We are delighted to join Rwanda in becoming the next destination for Global Citizen’s multi-year, multi-market pan-African tour and expect continued impact in the years ahead,” says H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo, president of Ghana. “Today, we celebrate this milestone for Ghana. We look forward to future announcements on this growing cohort of Move Afrika destinations.”
Further details, including event dates and lineups, will be announced in the coming months.
“We are honoured to bring Move Afrika to Ghana,” says Global Citizen’s chief vision officer Kweku Mandela. “Our partnership with the Ghanaian and Rwandan governments will showcase the best of African creative talent to the world, while generating economic investment into the local creative economy, which will have a lasting impact across the continent for years to come.”
“We visited Accra for the first time in 2022 and really connected with the people and the culture”
The events are designed to increase demand from international and regional artists to tour the region, and build local capacity, create jobs and scale the live entertainment sector within host cities.
Move Afrika is Global Citizen’s latest effort to address the world’s inequities by creating job and entrepreneurship opportunities through live events. Its previous events in Africa include: Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, which brought Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Ed Sheeran, Usher, Eddie Vedder and Chris Martin to Johannesburg, South Africa in 2018 and Global Citizen Festival: Accra in 2022, which featured performances from Usher, SZA, Stormzy, Gyakie, Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, TEMS and Uncle Waffles.
“We visited Accra for the first time in 2022 and really connected with the people and the culture,” says a statement by pgLang. “Accra will always be a special place for us and we are excited to work with Move Afrika and expand our efforts to Ghana.”
Liz Agbor-Tabi, VP of global policy for Global Citizen, says the organisation is pairing experts with local technical partners to develop expertise in the region.
“We’re doing a lot of work to upskill the talent on the ground,” Agbor-Tani tells Semafor. “We’re showing to the world and investors that there is talent on the continent.”
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The inaugural edition of Vic Mensa and Chance the Rapper’s Black Star Line Festival in Ghana pulled in an estimated 52,000 fans.
The rappers both co-organised and performed at the free festival , which was held at Black Star Square in Accra last Friday (6 January).
The all-star line-up also featured acts such as Erykah Badu, Dave Chappelle, T-Pain, Jeremih, Sarkodie, Tobe Nwigwe, Asakaa Boys and M.anifest.
“The Black Star Line Festival is more than just a celebration of Black culture and music, it’s a chance for the Diaspora to come together as a community and remind ourselves of the power that lies within us”
“The Black Star Line Festival is more than just a celebration of Black culture and music, it’s a chance for the Diaspora to come together as a community and remind ourselves of the power that lies within us,” says Chance the Rapper. “It’s an opportunity to honour the legacy of those who came before us, and to inspire and uplift each other. It’s a historic event and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Black Star Line Festival.”
The weekend also included activities such as conversations with Mensa and Chance, skate sessions, fine art exhibitions and other cultural gatherings around town, in addition to the large-scale concert.
The festival’s name was a tribute to civil rights leader Marcus Garvey’s Black Star Line, founded in 1919, which would link the US, the Caribbean and Africa to global shipping and tourism opportunities,.
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