Creative Industry Questions Slow Progress of Black Star Experience Ahead of 2026 World Cup

As global anticipation builds toward the 2026 FIFA World Cup, stakeholders in Ghana’s creative and tourism sectors are raising concerns over what they describe as the slow rollout of the country’s flagship cultural tourism initiative, the Black Star Experience.

The initiative, launched on May 1, 2025 at the Black Star Square by President John Dramani Mahama, was positioned as a transformative national programme to project Ghana’s culture, boost tourism and strengthen Brand Ghana. However, 14 months after its unveiling, industry voices say its impact remains largely invisible.

With many countries already leveraging the global football tournament to position their culture and tourism industries, some creative sector players argue that Ghana is yet to fully activate its own strategy to benefit from the global attention.

Communications expert and tourism consultant, Francis Doku, believes the Secretariat should have taken a leading role in coordinating tourism, arts, culture and national branding efforts ahead of the tournament. He notes that such coordination is not yet evident in the public space.

Arts and culture journalist Kwame Dadzie also expressed concern over the perceived lack of progress, questioning the visibility of the initiative’s key pillars.

“Fourteen months after the launch, Ghana is yet to experience the Black Star. The initiative was built around seven pillars, cinema, music, cuisine, aesthetics, fashion, literature and heritage. Where are they? Which of these pillars has been activated in a way the public can see and appreciate?” he asked.

He further argued that the World Cup presented a major opportunity for Ghana to promote its culture globally, adding that other countries are already advancing similar strategies.

“The silence around the initiative is becoming too loud. We have not capitalised on this moment to push the Experience Ghana agenda as expected,” he said.

Popular disc jockey and entertainment entrepreneur DJ Ashmen also warned that the initiative risks losing public confidence if tangible results continue to lag behind expectations.

He described the concept as one of the most promising cultural policy ideas in recent years, but stressed that visibility and public engagement are critical to its success.

“If it is meant to be a 365-day celebration of Ghanaian culture, then people must see and experience it. Without that, it becomes just another good idea that never fully materialised,” he said.

Responding to concerns, Black Star Experience Coordinator Rex Omar attributed the initial slow pace to funding challenges. In earlier comments on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z, he explained that the Secretariat was set up after the 2025 national budget had already been approved, leaving no initial budgetary allocation for its operations.

“Most of our planned projects could not be executed because there was no dedicated budget allocation for the Secretariat,” he said, adding that all activities required administrative clearance as an office under the Presidency, which also affected implementation speed.

He noted that the Secretariat focused the period on groundwork, including partnerships, memoranda of understanding and pilot initiatives such as Creative Connect Afrika and Taste the Culture.

According to him, a budget proposal for 2026 has been submitted and defended, with expectations that improved funding will allow full implementation of the programme’s vision.

“We have done the preparatory work. Once funding becomes available, Ghanaians will begin to see the full vision unfold,” he said.

Despite these assurances, stakeholders say the situation raises broader questions about planning, timing and execution of one of Ghana’s most ambitious cultural branding initiatives.