GH event venues not ‘acoustically right’ but good for conferences —George Quaye

Communications professional and event planner, George Quaye, is lamenting how most event organisers have to make do with available venues for their shows even though they are not ‘acoustically right’.

He pointed out that the challenge of securing good venues, coupled with the absence of large-size auditoriums has put event planners at the mercy of sponsors.

Speaking on how the lack of venues is threatening the survival of event planners, the lead team at Image Bureau mentioned that it was quite unfortunate that Ghana only boasts of the National Theatre as the only proper structure set up for concerts and other theatre productions.

“There are not enough venues and the available ones don’t have the right set-up to aid production. The only venue set up for concerts and other theatre productions is the National Theatre which needs immediate attention.

“The others aren’t “acoustically right” for certain purposes but most of them are great for conferences and meetings.

“Again, without large-size auditoriums, event planners are at the mercy of sponsors. Most public events are patronised on disposal incomes. This means you cannot peg ticket costs too high. You do that, you lose patronage. Small venues would usually command the same costs as large venues with slight differences.

“For instance, though the cost of sound supply may alter based on venue size, artiste fees won’t necessarily change. So to break even or make a profit, event planners are pushed to sponsors. If venues were large and many, the spaces could cater to the cost of the events without necessarily charging high fees or relying on sponsors,” he said.

George Quaye’s comments are very relevant in these times when complaints about proper event venues have been very high especially in December, which is the “cocoa season” for event organisers.

In an interview last year, Gospel musician Joe Mettle also lamented Ghana’s lack of adequate event venues, which makes it difficult for artistes to explore different stage productions.

Just like George Quaye, Joe Mettle also expressed frustrations about how the available venues lack the needed set-ups to support productions.

On the said interview, Joe Mettle disclosed that he had to end a music tour following challenges with proper structures for the shows.

George Quaye told Graphic Showbiz that while the issue of the unavailability of proper venues for events is a problem not only for event organisers but to a larger extent players in the creative industry, very few people are making ‘noise’ about the challenge.

“This is a huge challenge but interestingly, very few people are shouting about it. The majority are silently watching on. Some also hear the rants, see the posts, comment a little and leave it alone. If we are going to make an impact, the noise must be loud and made in unison,” he stated.