CAN 2008 game villages at cultural centre and KNUST

The Centre for National Culture (CNC) in Kumasi and the campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have been marked down as games villages for the Kumasi Venue of CAN 2008.

The villages are to serve as entertainment grounds for football fans and tourists during the tournament.

Well packaged variety entertainment programmes have been lined up for football fans before and after the matches.

An exhibition to showcase the arts and cultural heritage of each of the four nations (Zambia, Sudan, Egypt and Cameroon) based in Kumasi is to be mounted at the games villages along side that of Ghana.

There are also plans to have national days for each of the four countries to enable them celebrate and demonstrate their cultural practices in their respective countries.

The activities at the cultural centre for instance are expected to begin Thursday January 17 and end on February 17, 2008. It would be characterised with live band music shows featuring some of the best local artistes in Kumasi.

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) is to mount giant television screens at the Dwabirem in the games village to telecast live the matches from the other venues.

Beginning January 17, the centre is expected to be a venue of activities where both Ghanaians and foreigners would enjoy some of the rich cultural activities including exhibition of arts and culture.

The activities are expected to be extended for those who would stay after the tournament.

Kumasi hotels ready for CAN 2008

Hotels earmarked for the Kumasi Venue of the African Cup of Nations is adequately prepared to receive the participating teams, international visitors and tourists.

All the hotels have upgraded their facilities to meet international standards and also amaze the foreigners who would patronise their services.

The four teams to be based in Kumasi are Zambia, Sudan, Egypt and Cameroun. Zambia and Sudan are been hosted at the Golden Tulip Kumasi City while Egypt and Cameroun are been hosted at the Miklin and Georgia hotels respectively.

The Crystal Rose Hotel, Royal Basin and Flossid are hosting CAF officials, journalists and supporters.

The Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) has already organised series of training programmes for the hotels to enable them improve upon their services. The GTB was also offering technical assistance to the hotels so as to help make it possible for them to accommodate visitors during the tournament.
All hotel managers and frontline staff have been trained to enable them improve upon their service delivery.

There are 160 rooms available at the Golden Tulip Kumasi City, which was commissioned just last Saturday by President J. A. Kufuor. Other facilities at the hotel are an a la carte restaurant, lobby bar, pool side bar, health club facilities, a swimming pool, conference and meeting rooms among others.

The Hotel Georgia has 56 rooms. The hotel has seen major renovation works where everything in the hotel from A-Z has been changed in preparation for the tournament. Floor tiles and bathroom accessories have all be been changed.

New equipment including CCTV cameras for security has been installed at the hotel premises to ensure security for guests.

Miklin Hotel on its part has also improved upon its facilities and provided CCTV cameras as well as train staff to enable them handle guests in the Ghanaian hospitality manner.

There are 59 rooms available at the hotel which have security coded safes where guests could keep their valuables.

The Operations Manager, Mrs Bernice Ofei said the staffs were upbeat to offer guests the best of services during the period of the tournament to make them feel comfortable.

The Kumasi Venue Organising Committee (KVOC) has made arrangements for supporters who are unable to find hotel accommodation in the metropolis during the period of the tournament to be accommodated at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in student accommodation facilities.