The initiative – spearheaded by Global Citizen, American rapper Kendrick Lamar and his pgLang partner Dave Free – aims to create an international tour circuit across the continent.
The announcement was made on January 17 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland by Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo. As with Move Afrika: Rwanda, Move Afrika: Ghana will seek to promote financial investment in Ghana’s entertainment industry.
“I am thrilled to announce that later this year, Global Citizen will be returning to Ghana with Move Afrika: Ghana,” said Akufo-Addo. “Global Citizen is known for leveraging live music events to engage youth while creating social and economic impact. We are delighted to join Rwanda as the next destination for Global Citizen’s multi-year, multi-year pan-African tour and look forward to continued impact in the years to come. Today, we celebrate this milestone for Ghana. We look forward to future announcements for this growing group of Move Afrika destinations.”
Kendrick Lamar headlined the Kigali leg at the BK Arena on December 6th. The date and line-up for the upcoming event in Accra have not been announced yet, but Global Citizen has a concert in Ghana in 2022 with Usher, SZA, Stormzy and Tems.
“We visited Accra for the first time in 2022 and really connected with the people and culture,” pgLang said in a statement. “Accra will always be a special place for us and we are excited to partner with Move Afrika and expand our efforts in Ghana.”
“Congratulations to my brother and friend, President Nana Akufo-Addo, for your partnership with Move Afrika,” said Rwandan President Paul Kagame. “Last month, Rwanda was privileged to host the inaugural Move Afrika concert, in partnership with Global Citizen. Without exaggeration, Kendrick Lamar moved the whole city of Kigali with his performance. We are even happier that he took the time to engage with our local artists. Africa has the talent. More often than not, what they lack is guidance and support. Global Citizen’s commitment to developing the workforce needed for professional concert touring will leave an important economic legacy for our region.”
Global Citizen’s Chief Vision Officer, Kweku Mandela, said: “We are honored to bring Move Afrika to Ghana. Our partnership with the governments of Ghana and Rwanda will showcase the best African creative talent to the world, while generating financial investment in the local creative economy, which will have a lasting impact across the continent for years to come.”
In November, organizers said Kigali would serve as Move Afrika’s anchor city until 2028, with additional countries added to the tour schedule each year as the campaign aims to expand to five countries by 2025.
“Move Afrika is Global Citizen’s latest effort to address global inequalities by creating employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for the continent’s emerging generations through an annual series of world-class live events,” said Global Citizen.