THE 64th Hogbetsotso Festival of the chiefs and people of the Anlo State has been designed to attract tourists, empower local businesses, showcase the rich cultural heritage of Anlo and foster community engagement and a sense of belonging.
The celebration will also challenge the youth and leadership to draw strength from the past, uphold cherished cultural values and work collectively towards a peaceful, united and prosperous Ghana for the benefit of present and future generations.
The Chairman of the 2026 Hogbetsotso Festival Planning Committee, Togbui Ziwu, said this in a speech read on behalf of the Awadada of Anlo, Togbui Agbesi Awusu, at a media launch of the festival at Tegbi in the Anloga District.
The festival is being held on the theme: “Anlo, our heritage and our values: Striving to build one Ghana for a better tomorrow.”
Togbui Agbesi Awusu said the festival also served as a national platform to inspire a mindset centred on cultural discipline and local economic empowerment, while demonstrating how traditional accountability could contribute to the national agenda of resetting Ghana’s economy.
He said Hogbetsotso had gone beyond showcasing the cultural values of the people to promoting their commitment to building a united, peaceful and prosperous nation.
He said the festival was also intended to create economic opportunities in the Anlo State, particularly in tourism, agriculture and trade.
He urged citizens, residents and friends of Anlo to actively participate in the festival and use the occasion to strengthen bonds, support community development, inspire young people and reaffirm the relevance of the Hogbetsotso Festival.
• Anlo chiefs at the launch of the festival
A member of the 2026 Hogbetsotso Festival Planning Committee, Togbui Kpemini Gawu III, said the festival started on September 22, 2026, with a number of activities lined up, and would climax with a durbar at Anloga on Saturday, November 7, 2026.
He mentioned some of the activities as clean-up exercises, which had physical and spiritual significance; a mini durbar on October 17, 2026, at Blamezado; engagements with basic schools on the relevance of the Hogbetsotso Festival; the Hogbe Corporate Investment Forum; and the sitting in state of the revered Awoamefia of Anlo, Togbe Sri III.
Togbui Kpemini announced that this year’s festival would identify and honour citizens of Anlo who had distinguished themselves through significant contributions to the development of the area, to motivate others to emulate them.
Another member of the Planning Committee, Mr Siegfried Vilawoe Sedziafa, said the theme had moved the celebration beyond remembrance of the past to a conversation about the future.
He said heritage was more than preservation, as it was also a resource from which present and future generations could draw values, inspiration and a sense of responsibility.
Mr Sedziafa stressed the importance of preserving Anlo’s rich cultural inheritance while ensuring that traditional values remained relevant in a rapidly changing society.
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FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, TEGBI
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