GTA distances itself from controversial Karnival Kingdom Festival

The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has stated that it has neither approved nor endorsed the recently held Karnival Kingdom Festival, a five-day Caribbean-style carnival event organised in Osu in the Greater Accra Region.

The festival, which gained widespread attention after videos and nude images from the event surfaced on social media, has triggered intense public debate and criticism from religious bodies and sections of the public.

One of the groups that openly condemned the event was the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, which described the festival as inappropriate and inconsistent with Ghana’s cultural, moral, and legal values.

The Conference also questioned how such an event was allowed to take place openly on the streets of Accra.

Amid the backlash, the Ghana Tourism Authority has distanced itself from the festival, insisting it had no prior knowledge of the event and did not grant organisers any official approval.

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Speaking to Citi News, the Director of Corporate Affairs at the GTA, Bright Asempa Tsadidey, explained that the Authority was equally surprised by the development and is currently working with the Ghana Police Service to identify the organisers and establish how the event was held.

“We know that the Ghana Tourism Authority, when it comes to tourists coming into the country and their activities, indeed, we are deeply surprised.

“We have not okayed, we have not endorsed, and we have not sanctioned any group of people to undertake such an exercise or event,” he stated.

According to him, the Authority has already initiated contact with the police over the matter.

“We have reached out to the Ghana Police Service, already trying to find out the organisers of this very work so that we can engage them,” he added.

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Meanwhile, watch how the Guinea Fowl Bazaar is keeping Northern Ghana’s culture alive