Black Star Experience Secretariat launches Black Star Comedy Experience to provide global exposure

The Black Star Experience Secretariat, in collaboration with It's Live Entertainment and Laughing on Lex has launched a new comedy initiative dubbed the Black Star Comedy Experience, titled "You're Ghana Laugh," to provide infrastructure, global exposure and sustainable careers for Ghanaian comedians.

The initiative was launched by the Coordinator of the Secretariat, Mr. Rex Owusu Marfo, popularly known as Rex Omar, at the forecourt of the Jubilee House on Thursday, 24th September, 2026.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Owusu Marfo said the comedy experience is positioned as one of the first activities to herald Ghana's 70th Independence Anniversary celebration in 2027.

"Today, the 24th of September 2026, we gather here at Jubilee House to launch what we call the Black Star Comedy Experience. The 2nd of January is going to be the 70th anniversary of Ghana's independence. We want this project to be one of the first projects that starts the celebration of 2027," he stated.

He noted that the initiative will express Ghana's freedom story through laughter, describing comedians as true stars.

"Seventy years ago, Ghana lit the flame of freedom that swept across the continent. Today, we return to the same spirit of boldness, but we will express it through a new language, and this language is laughter," he said.

"If you care to know, laughter is another form of medicine. That is why I call you guys the true stars," he added.

Mr. Owusu Marfo explained that the comedy experience falls under the audio pillar of the Black Star Experience, which rests on seven pillars: film, audio, food, aesthetics, style, literature, and heritage.

"Sound is the oldest storytelling medium. Long before cameras and screens, our elders gathered under the moonlight, and it was the voice, the timing, the tone, the tale that carried wisdom," he noted.

According to him, the initiative seeks to address the long-standing lack of infrastructure and global exposure for Ghanaian comedians.

"For too long, our comedians have had talent without infrastructure, gift without a global stage. The Black Star Comedy Experience changes that. It turns raw talent into sustainable careers. It turns our laughter into export," he stated.

He stressed that culture must be viable as a business.

"I keep saying that culture is business. What is the point in somebody building a career in culture if it can't put food on the table?" he said.

Mr. Owusu Marfo added that the Black Star Experience is a year-long commitment and not a one-off event, and that it goes beyond entertainment to focus on jobs and the creative economy.

"This is not just about entertainment. This is about jobs. This is about the creative economy. This is about young Ghanaians building futures out of their wit and their voices," he said.

He also referenced government's planned investment in the creative and tourism sectors.

"Just last two weeks, His Excellency, the President, announced that from next year going, he's going to invest 2.5 billion dollars into various sectors of the economy, which fortunately for us captures the tourism industry and the creative economy," he disclosed.

The main event is scheduled for 2nd January, 2027, at the UPSA Auditorium in Accra, where top Ghanaian and international comedians are expected to perform. They include OB Amponsah, Lekzy Decomic, Foster Romanus, Klint Da Drunk, Khemikal, Eddie Kadi, among others.

The Black Star Comedy Experience is expected to leverage laughter to drive jobs, boost the creative economy and promote cultural export.