Hogbetsotso beach concert cancelled: vendors get GH¢500 each after Shatta Wale show

Registered vendors for Sunday's Shatta Wale Hogbetsotso Beach Concert will each receive GH¢500 following its cancellation, as announced on Monday, November 9.

The announcement came from Eli Boutique Hotel & Beach Resort in Tegbi and the Office of the Awoamefia.

For food and drinks sellers who had already bought stock, paid to haul coolers to the Keta coast and pitched their stalls for a Sunday night crowd, the goodwill payment notice is what remains of the festival's second headline concert.

The Hogbetsotso weekend line-up paired two dancehall shows: Stonebwoy and MzVee on Saturday, November 7, at Anloga's Lalana Beach, then Shatta Wale on Sunday, November 8, at Eli Beach Resort in Tegbi.

Only half of that bill made it to the stage. Hours before gates were due to open on Sunday afternoon, the HRM Togbi Sri III Official Concert was called off, with TV3 Ghana posting the stamped cancellation flyer at 6:42 p.m.

Saturday's concert went ahead, with Stonebwoy performing at Lalana Beach. It followed the Anloga grand durbar held at Awoamefia Sri III Astro Turf Park.

By Sunday evening, just after the Tegbi show was scrapped, Stonebwoy was sharing clips of phones lit up across the Anloga sand: "Spirit Led! DULEGBA."

"Anloga loved it!!! Hogbetsotso Festival."

Why Sunday's show fell apart remains unanswered. Neither Sunday's cancellation notice nor Monday's joint statement gave a reason, and by Tuesday morning Shatta Wale had posted nothing about Tegbi on his verified X account—four years after organisers apologised for his 2022 Hogbetsotso concert no-show.

In Monday's statement, the Office of the Awoamefia and the hotel said the call-off had strained everyone involved, including the resort's own operations. "Despite the financial strain this places on our own operations, we understand that small businesses are likely to feel the impact even more severely," the statement said.

Management admitted the GH¢500 token will not cover every vendor's losses from the Anlo Hogbetsotso weekend, promising to contact registered traders directly with payout details.