Move Afrika series expands to second country
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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Black Star Line Festival debut draws 52k fans
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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Ghana’s Afrochella ‘will not return’
Organisers of Ghana’s Afrochella festival say the event will not return in the wake of its 2022 edition.
Afrochella launched in 2017 and was most recently held at El Wak Stadium, near Accra, from 28-29 December with headliners Burna Boy and Stonebwoy. Other performers included Stonebwoy, Asake and Gyakie.
According to BBC, the announcement was made at the end of the festival at around 3am last Friday morning.
“This is the last Afrochella,” co-founder Abdul Abdullah told the crowd just after Burna Boy’s headline set.
No reason was given for the decision but last October it was revealed that Goldenvoice and Coachella are suing the event for copyright infringement
No reason was given for the decision but last October it was revealed that Goldenvoice and Coachella are suing the event for copyright infringement.
Afrocehlla organisers are accused of “actively promoting music events in the United States and in Ghana using the confusingly similar [name] ‘Afrochella’ and by fraudulently attempting to register plaintiffs’ actual trademarks as their own”.
According to a lawsuit filed in the US district court, the defendants “expanded their infringing conduct” via the launch of “at least seven different” Afrochella events in the Los Angeles area and “have refused to curtail their infringing use of plaintiffs’ registered marks, necessitating the filing of this federal lawsuit”.
“Despite repeated requests from Plaintiffs, defendants have refused to adopt their own distinctive event name and marks, and as a result, instances of actual confusion have already appeared on social media,” it added.
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Coachella sues Ghana’s Afrochella over name
Goldenvoice and Coachella are suing Ghana’s Afrochella for copyright infringement.
Afrochella launched in 2017 and is due to return to El Wak Stadium, near Accra, from 28-29 December with headliners Burna Boy and Stonebwoy.
However, organisers are accused of “actively promoting music events in the United States and in Ghana using the confusingly similar mark ‘Afrochella’ and by fraudulently attempting to register plaintiffs’ actual trademarks as their own”.
According to a lawsuit filed in the US district court, the defendants “expanded their infringing conduct” into the US this year via the launch of “at least seven different” Afrochella events in the Los Angeles area and “have refused to curtail their infringing use of plaintiffs’ registered marks, necessitating the filing of this federal lawsuit”.
“Despite repeated requests from Plaintiffs, defendants have refused to adopt their own distinctive event name and marks, and as a result, instances of actual confusion have already appeared on social media,” it adds.
Referencing an August 2022 quote by Floatchella co-founder Edward Elohim, the defendants claim that Elohim essentially admitted the name was chosen “with specific intent to create a suggestion that it was a version of Coachella”.
“Plaintiffs have been forced to file this action to protect their Chella and Coachella trademarks and service marks from infringement and unfair competition”
“Plaintiffs have been forced to file this action to protect their Chella and Coachella trademarks and service marks from infringement and unfair competition, as well as to protect the public from the likelihood of confusion,” adds the suit. “Defendants even went as far as to apply in Ghana to register Coachella and Chella as their own trademarks, using the exact same stylisation as plaintiffs’ registered Coachella mark.”
Goldenvoice and Coachella are requesting a trial by jury over allegations of trademark and service mark infringement, false designation of origin, cyber squatting and unfair competition.
None of the parties have commented on the case publicly .
Coachella Festival, whose 2023 edition is scheduled for Indio Park, California from 14-16 and 21-23 April next year, registered the “Coachella” trademark for musical events in 2006. It is far from the first time the festival has launched legal action against other events over the “Chella” name.
AEG and Live Nation settled their trademark dispute over a rival music event called ‘Coachella Day One 22’ earlier this year, while Connecticut’s Floatchella was renamed Floatfest, Music on the Mystic River following a complaint from Coachella promoter AEG Presents.
Elsewhere, Los Angeles festival Hoodchella was rechristened Noise in the Hood after coming to an “amicable agreement” with AEG/Goldenvoice following legal action in 2016, and a California court ruled in Coachella’s favour in its dispute with film festival Filmchella in 2017.
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Global Citizen Festival raises $2bn in pledges
Global Citizen has announced its 10th anniversary Global Citizen Festival campaign has culminated in over $2.4 billion in commitments to end extreme poverty.
The six-week campaign concluded with a nine-hour festival across two stages in New York City’s Central Park in the US and Black Star Square in Accra, Ghana last Saturday (24 September).
Performers on the Central Park stage included Metallica, Charlie Puth, Jonas Brothers, Maneskin, Mariah Carey, Mickey Guyton and Rosalía, while Accra’s Black Star Square saw live performances from acts such as Usher, SZA, Stormzy, Gyakie, H.E.R., Sarkodie, Stonebwoy and TEMS.
The 2022 project saw two million actions taken by global citizens as part of Global Citizen’s mission, more than doubling the record previously set by the international advocacy organisation.
“Hope lies in the fact that millions of citizens are rising up to take action, more than any other point in history”
“Amidst all the doomsday messages we hear today, hope lies in the fact that millions of citizens are rising up to take action, more than any other point in history,” says Global Citizen co-founder and CEO Hugh Evans. “Ten years ago, Global Citizen was just an idea – and 10 years from now we’ll see a generation of global citizens running for office, starting companies, and transforming communities.
“Ending extreme poverty is not a partisan issue, and those most in need can not be treated like political pawns. Our job is to not let our leaders forget that. If you are lucky enough to live in a democracy, use your voice!”
On the Global Citizen Festival: Accra stage, the governments of Ghana and South Africa announced the African Prosperity Fund, a joint initiative that aims to deploy $1bn to fund projects for economic inclusion and financial participation across the continent.
At the New York City leg, meanwhile, US members of Congress stood alongside world leaders, philanthropists and trailblazers from the private sector to make announcements. Over a video message, president Macron announced France will reallocate 30% of its special drawing rights to the world’s poorest countries, specifically in Africa, to fight extreme poverty, pandemics, inequalities and climate change.
First held in 2012, the Global Citizen Festival is the world’s longest-running global campaign calling for an end to extreme poverty
The days leading up to festival also saw major commitments from world leaders, including prime minister Trudeau of Canada and president von der Leyen of the European Commission, who respectively committed CAD $1.209bn and €715m at the seventh replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
First held in 2012, the Global Citizen Festival is the world’s longest-running global campaign calling for an end to extreme poverty. The event was broadcast and streamed on ABC, ABC News Live, FX, Hulu, iHeartRadio, TimesLIVE, Twitter and YouTube, among others.
Tickets to the festivals were free and could be earned by downloading the Global Citizen app or visiting its website to take action on the campaign’s issues. For each action taken, users earned points that could be redeemed for tickets to the festivals.
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Global Citizen Festival to be held in US and Ghana
International advocacy organisation Global Citizen has announced details of the 10th anniversary Global Citizen Festival.
The event will take place across two stages in New York City’s Central Park in the US and Black Star Square in Accra, Ghana on Saturday 24 September.
Performers on the Central Park stage will include Metallica, Charlie Puth, Jonas Brothers, Maneskin, Mariah Carey, Mickey Guyton and Rosalía, while Accra’s Black Star Square will see live performances from acts such as Usher, SZA, Stormzy, Gyakie, H.E.R., Sarkodie, Stonebwoy and TEMS.
“Decades of systemic and political failures have led humanity into the midst of converging and rapidly deteriorating crises – climate, hunger, health, war and conflict,” says Global Citizen co-founder and CEO Hugh Evans. “The most marginalised populations are paying the price of the stagnant inaction of our leaders, and now millions of lives, and the future of our planet, are at stake.
“We demand action now, while there’s still time to change our collective trajectory”
“We refuse to just stand by and watch! We refuse to accept the starvation of multitudes when solutions are readily at hand. We demand a secure future for girls everywhere. We demand governments keep their promises on climate funding. We demand relief from debts unjustly crushing economies. And we demand action now, while there’s still time to change our collective trajectory.”
First held in 2012, the Global Citizen Festival is the world’s longest-running global campaign calling for an end to extreme poverty.
The event will be broadcast and streamed on ABC, ABC News Live, FX, Hulu, iHeartRadio, TimesLIVE, Twitter and YouTube, among others.
Tickets to the festivals are free and can be earned by downloading the Global Citizen app or visiting www.globalcitizen.org to take action on the campaign’s issues. For each action taken, users earn points that can be redeemed for tickets to the festivals.
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Event Genius Pay to make African debut
UK event technology company Event Genius has announced a new cashless payment deal with the inaugural Ghanian edition of Afro Nation festival this December.
Event Genius has partnered with festivals and events across Europe and Asia including Portugal’s BPM Festival, Jika Jika! in Northern Ireland, Parklife in Manchester, UK and Annie Mac’s Lost and Found festival in Malta
Under the new deal, the company will take its cashless payment technology to Africa for the first time.
The Ghanian edition of Afro Nation festival is scheduled from the 27 to 30 December, with an expected attendance of 15,000. Alkaline, Burna Boy and J Hus are among acts to appear on the line-up.
Festivalgoers will be able to pre-purchase credit to pay for food, drink and merchandise at the event using RFID-enabled wristbands.
“We’re delighted to partner with a ticketing and technology company capable of providing a true end-to-end event platform for the inception of Afro Nation”
Event Genius is powering the ticketing for Afro Nation Ghana through the Ticket Arena website and a white label box office. Using the Entry Genius app, organisers will be able to manage entry points, track attendance and reduce ticket fraud.
“We’re delighted to partner with a ticketing and technology company capable of providing a true end-to-end event platform for the inception of Afro Nation,” says Obi Asika, chief executive of Afro Nation.
“Through our partnership with Ticket Arena and Event Genius, fans are assured the best possible experience from buying tickets, to entering the festival safely and ultimately enjoying their time dancing on the beach, without the need to worry about money or queues for drinks.”
The first-ever Afro Nation festival took place in Portimão, Portugal this year from 1 to 4 August, with performances from Wizkid, Davido, Ms Dynamite and Stefflon Don.
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