Kirk Franklin Concerts Cost ¢500 Million .... To Postpone

Kirk Franklin Many gospel music enthusiasts may have been disappointed a few days ago when “Jesus Stomp Man” Kirk Franklin and his band could not fly down to Ghana to perform three very well publicised concerts.But one person who is bearing the biggest burden of the disappointment is Maxwell Edusei.Mr Edusei is the CEO of Gospelfest Africa, the organisers of the show and his organisation is licking its wounds after incurring a huge total bill of over ¢500 million.In a bare-it-all interview with Showbiz in Accra last Friday, Mr Edusei disclosed that his company spent about ¢250 million in promotion expenses from costs ranging from radio and television adverts to posters and banners.The two-tier stage which was mounted at the Independence Square in Accra was constructed at a cost of about ¢130 million. The organisers also had to pay penalty fees for the re-booking of the 30-man crew for December.Mr Edusei said in all the organisers received only about ¢10 million in sponsorship and that was just a drop in the ocean by the looks of things.The only costs that will not be counted as a loss yet are the 21-day engagement fees paid to both Kirk Franklin and Papa San binding them to honour their contract in December.Mr Edusei stopped short at placing the blame of the re-scheduling of the show to December on the woes that has befallen the national airline, Ghana Airways but he was disappointed that the airline was unable to fly a group of African American tourists and a music team to Ghana last August for the first gospel show.Subsequently a second group, numbering about 115 from the USA and the Caribbean, were booked to take part in the October show. A team of industry experts assembled by Mr Edusei for the organisation of the show was busy making preparations when trouble struck again, this time it was the inability on part of Kirk Franklin's group to make the new date due to personal reasons.Unfortunately they were unable to relay this vital information to the organisers in good time.Disappointing as this might have been to all concerned, Mr Edusei a staunch Christian, believes that it was providence that led to this turn of events. Not only did it rain on October 1 and 2 but, Mr Edusei envisions an even grander show in December.He said that ticket holders who keep their tickets till the December show will get to be part of an after-party with Kirk and his family, and also go home with an autographed picture and CD of Kirk.Meanwhile Kirk Franklin has issued a personal apology via phone to his fans at a press conference held recently in Accra for his inability to show up for the concert and gave the assurance that he will definitely turn up for the show in December.Gospelfest Africa, a relatively young entertainment organisation, has three main agenda for its establishment the first of which is to win souls for Christ.The CEO insists that he wants to host the show at the Independence Square in spite of the cost because he wanted to use the independence arch as Ghana's own identity symbol to rival the Eiffel Tower of France and the Statue of Liberty of the USA.