The CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Maame Efua Houadjeto, on Thursday, said plans are underway for the start of the “Black Star Experience” in July.

She said the GTA and partners have put together several programmes starting from July, which would run throughout the year.

The “Black Star Experience” is a key initiative under the government’s flagship programme for the tourism, arts, and culture sector.

The project is designed to redefine and promote the Ghanaian identity, attract investments, generate employment, and boost tourism.

It will feature a year-round celebration encompassing all major entertainment, artistic, cultural, and educational disciplines.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mrs Houadjeto said: “We are putting together a number of events that will be remarkable for anybody who comes in.”

She said in July there would be the Black Star festival both in Ghana and abroad, then in August PANAFEST and Emancipation would take place in Accra and Cape Coast, as well food fairs, and fashion shows.

“Apart from that we are also putting together jazz and symphony orchestra performances, as well as a gospel fest. There will also be a high life festival, as well as the usual concerts and music festivals.

Mrs Houadjeto noted that in September, FESTAC Africa would be organised for the first time in Accra, to coincide with the UNWTO Tourism month celebrations.

“We will celebrate arts and culture, the movie industry, our youth and our health,” she said.

“The whole of Africa will be in Ghana to display their diverse culture and show the unity and beauty of Africans, because we are one people separated by artificial borders.”

She noted that the “Black Star Experience” was different from the ‘Beyond the Return’ initiative which focused on only the diaspora.

“The ‘Black Star experience’ is going to have a global feeling.”

“We want to go all out there and tell everybody to come into Ghana at any point to experience Ghana in totality. It is like imagining an experience, and overall, that is what we call the “Black Star Experience.”

She urged Ghanaians to watch out for those programmes and more between now and December, while calling on the world to experience the destination Ghana, “with all the beautiful people, the food, the clothing, the culture, festivals, sites and attractions.”