The Roots Homecoming Festival, which aims at bringing together Africans and the people of African descent to commemorate the forced enslavement of Africans in the Atlantic Slave Trade and to celebrate the richness and diversity of Gambian and African culture, has been postponed due to reasons that are yet to be disclosed by the Ministry of Tourism. The festival was scheduled for this month with a line-up of different exciting activities. 

This sudden unfortunate news was disclosed to What’s On- Gambia by a staff member at the Gambian Tourism Board’s Information Office at the Senegambia Junction. 

In a press release the ministry wrote: “The Ministry of Tourism and Culture regrets to announce that the International ROOTS festival slated for May 2013 has been postponed till further notice.  Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.” 

The festival started in 1994 by the then Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council. It’s held biannually, attracting tourists from Europe and the USA. According to the Roots secretariat, it is destined to become a globally recognized event and a historical occasion for many millions of people.