Extend December in GH beyond music —George Quaye

The CEO of Image Bureau, an events company, George Quaye, is appealing to the government to extend the December in GH festivities to cover other sectors of the creative industry.

He mentioned that the celebration should not be limited to music and parties since there were many areas of the arts and entertainment industry that could equally serve patrons during the festivities.

Citing the 10 main fields of Ghana’s creative industry as visual arts, performing arts, cultural sites, traditional cultural expressions, publishing, new media, design, creative services, music and audiovisuals, George Quaye pointed out that music and movies continued to enjoy the attention and support leaving the rest to almost a goose egg.

“Currently, apart from music and movies, and to a lesser extent heritage sites and visual arts, the other domains in the Creatives basket could arguably be likened to lesser-known sports. The media has simply not thrown enough light on them and event planners for fear of losing money haven’t ventured into those spaces.

“That is why I believe that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture needs to, as a matter of urgency, make some funding available to planners who want to venture into those spaces. Something to at least provide some sort of a buffer should they incur losses. They are grey areas that require some level of government investment to help them stand.

“December in GH is a big deal for Ghana and patrons, particularly those from the diaspora, should experience Ghana in every way and not just music and parties,” he said.

There is no doubt that December in GH has become one of Ghana’s successful tourism brands, and an anchor that has created a global wave, perhaps a movement, with people always looking forward to it every year.

Last December’s session was another success with events such as Afrochella, Afro Nation Rapperholic, Akwaaba Parties, Polo Beach Club, Taste of Ghana, Little Havana, Around the World, Rythmz on the Runway to the Shatta Concert, Samini Experience, Stonebwoy’s BHIM concert, Western Carnivals, Nite of Laughs serving the purpose of selling Ghana’s creative works.

Even though George Quaye, who is also the host of Showbiz A-Z on JOY FM, gave a huge thumbs up to the project, he said there were questions that needed answers.

“For instance, has the December in GH experience been limited to music concerts and parties? What’s the word from our tourism sites? How come we didn’t premiere any big movies? Aside from Roverman’s Festival of Plays, were there any other theatre experiences? How about comedy, poetry, visual arts, etc?

“Do we have figures from our hotels, transport, food and beverages, etc., to help us analyse the gains, identify the possible bottlenecks and make it even better for 2023?

“These are relevant questions that will shape the focus and objective of the project better going forward,” he added.