Accra to host Africa’s biggest cultural, trade festival
By Samuella Antwi
Accra is set to host the continent’s biggest cultural and trade showcase as the FESTAC Africa Festival 2025 was officially launched on Thursday, 11 September, with a rallying call for Africans and people of African descent to promote and preserve Africa’s legacy.
The week-long celebration, scheduled for 21 to 27 September 2025, will take place across key venues in Accra under the theme “Harnessing Health, Culture, Trade, Climate Change, Gender Equity, and Tourism for Sustainable Economic Growth.”
At the press launch held at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, officials of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and festival organisers emphasised Ghana’s readiness to deliver a world-class Pan-African event.
In a speech delivered by Gilbert Aggrey Abeiku Santana, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Authority, on behalf of CEO Maame Afua Houadjeto, Ghana pledged to showcase the best of the continent’s creativity, commerce and culture.
“FESTAC Africa Festival 2025 is more than an event. It is the biggest Pan-African festival bringing together culture, commerce and collaboration to drive sustainable development and create the largest trade market space during festival week,” he stated.
The Deputy CEO of the Authority, stressed that the festival would go beyond celebration to forge lasting connections between culture and commerce.
He said the event would unlock opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses, artisans, creators and innovators across Africa to access new markets and form partnerships that extend beyond the festival.
Chairman of FESTAC, Engr Yinka Abioye, described the festival as both a movement and a rallying point to preserve Africa’s rich heritage.
“This is the Black Star Experience, the heart and soul of Africa in one place, at one time. From Accra to Abuja, from Nairobi to New York, the eyes of the world are on Ghana as we launch the biggest Pan-African festival of our time,” he noted.
The festival dates carry added significance, coinciding with 21 September, the birthday of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and 27 September, World Tourism Day.
The week will feature a diverse line-up of events, including conferences and summits on trade, tourism, technology, gender equity and youth development; health screenings; cultural performances and concerts at Independence Square; sports and youth events such as the SA vs Zimbabwe Braai Day and Walk4Hope; film screenings and documentaries; culinary experiences headlined by the Ghana vs Nigeria Jollof Showdown; the Black Star Experience; and tourism activities across the country.
The festival traces its roots to Dakar, Senegal, in 1966 and Lagos, Nigeria, in 1977.
After a 45-year hiatus, it was revived in Zanzibar in 2022 and has since been hosted annually in Tanzania (2023) and Kenya (2024).
Ghana now takes the mantle as host in 2025, positioning itself once again at the heart of Pan-African cultural and economic renaissance.
