Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has accepted an invitation from the City of Memphis, Tennessee, USA to attend the 44th edition of the Memphis in May International Festival.
The Overlord of the Ashanti Kingdom will be in Memphis with a contingent of Paramount Chiefs, who owe allegiance to the Golden Stool, queen mothers, princes of the Golden Stool as well as Divisional Chiefs.
He will participate in the five-day programme, which will be climaxed by a traditional durbar on Memphis’s historic Beale Street on Sunday, May 8.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will arrive in the US on Tuesday, May 3 for the Festival, which is dedicating this year’s edition to the Republic of Ghana.
According to a press release from Manhyia Palace and signed by Chief of Staff Kofi Badu, His Majesty will meet with high level city and government officials and business leaders while in Memphis with the aim of promoting business and investment opportunities between Ghana and the US.
“The City of Memphis will honour His Majesty and Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States with a Black Star Black Tie Gala at the Renaissance Convention Center Grand Ballroom on May 6 to celebrate his 72nd birthday,” the press release said.
Among places slated for the Asantehene to visit are the National Civil Rights Museum, the STAX Museum of American Soul Music, and Graceland, the home of the Memphis legend Elvis Presley.
He will also visit the headquarters of Federal Express (FedEx) and the world’s largest manufacturers of medical robotics, Medtronic.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu’s final engagement will be a church service at the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church, where he will be hosted by celebrated musician and religious leader Bishop Al Green.
The Asantehene will be the second monarch after Maori Queen in 1991 to participate in the 44-year-old Memphis in May International Festival.
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|3news.com|Ghana