Ghana’s growing influence in the international live entertainment industry received a major boost as production expert **Nana Kwame Adu-Gyamfi** played a key technical role in delivering Stonebwoy’s BHIM Festival London at the OVO Arena Wembley.
Adu-Gyamfi, founder and Chief Operating Officer of Gigkits Limited and founder of LiveX Africa, led a Ghana-based production team that worked alongside British professionals to stage the international edition of Stonebwoy’s flagship festival.
He served as the concert’s lighting designer and lighting (LX) programmer, bringing expertise developed through years of producing large-scale events in Ghana.
The London production also brought together technical professionals from Ghana and the United Kingdom, with the Ghanaian team collaborating with UK production partner Hera Touring and local technical suppliers.
### From Ghana to Wembley
The Wembley show represented another milestone in Adu-Gyamfi’s long-standing involvement in Stonebwoy’s major live productions.
He previously led production for three consecutive editions of the BHIM Festival in Ghana between 2023 and 2025, as well as the Torcher Experience in Ho.
According to Adu-Gyamfi, preparations for the Wembley concert began approximately four months before the event, allowing the Ghanaian and British teams to develop the production design well ahead of the show.
“We had already spent months working through the stage, lighting, screens, public address and backline requirements,” he said.
The technical plans were subsequently shared with the UK production team and refined through consultations to accommodate the venue, available equipment and technical requirements at Wembley.
### Ghanaian expertise meets international production standards
Adu-Gyamfi said the lighting design was initially programmed in Ghana using the Avolites Titan platform before being adapted to the equipment available at the London venue.
He also visited the lighting supplier before the production moved into Wembley to inspect equipment and test parts of the programmed show file.
“There will almost always be differences between what is planned and what is eventually installed,” he explained.
“The important thing is being able to adapt quickly and work with the local teams to make the system function as one production.”
At Wembley, the Ghanaian crew joined the wider UK technical team for construction, testing and rehearsals.
The production required close coordination between lighting, sound and video teams because of the multiple performance areas incorporated into the arena setup.
A stage element inspired by Ghana’s Independence Arch was also included, giving the international production a distinct Ghanaian visual identity.
### Lighting designed to serve the performance
For Adu-Gyamfi, the technical spectacle should complement the artiste rather than overshadow the performance.
“For me, the lighting has to serve what is happening on stage,” he said.
“If the audience is fully inside the moment, then the technology is doing its job without necessarily demanding attention for itself.”
Beyond the technical execution, he said the Wembley production provided an opportunity to showcase Ghanaian music, culture and creativity to an international audience.
“When we take a production like BHIM Festival outside Ghana, we are not only taking the music with us,” he said.
“We are also presenting parts of who we are, our history, culture, visual identity and creative ability to people who may experience Ghana through the show.”
### Push for greater opportunities for African production professionals
Adu-Gyamfi believes the international expansion of Ghanaian and African artistes should also create opportunities for the technical professionals who make their productions possible.
He said African production specialists should increasingly be involved when artistes take their shows to international markets, arguing that such exposure would strengthen the continent’s wider live entertainment ecosystem.
“As our artistes and music travel, there should also be opportunities for the professionals who help build those productions to travel with them,” he said.
“That is important for the growth of the wider African live entertainment industry.”
He further described major international concerts as potential platforms for cultural diplomacy, particularly in connecting Ghana with diaspora communities and introducing new audiences to the country’s creative identity.
“A concert alone will not define how the world sees Ghana, but every strong cultural experience can contribute to that perception,” Adu-Gyamfi said.
