The biggest public square in Accra was finished in 1961 so that Ghana could impress one visitor: Queen Elizabeth II.
Kwame Nkrumah’s government began building Independence Square, now better known as Black Star Square, in 1960 and timed its completion for the Queen’s state visit in November 1961. Four years after independence, the square told the former colonial power exactly what kind of country it was now dealing with.
A visit that almost didn’t happen
The Queen’s trip to Ghana was politically charged. Nkrumah’s government had grown closer to the Soviet Union, there had been bomb attacks in Accra shortly before the trip, and some in Britain wanted it called off. It went ahead. The Queen and Nkrumah were photographed dancing together at a state ball in Accra, one of the most widely reproduced images of the visit, and the square hosted the ceremonial side of her stay.
The Arch and the Star
The square has two monuments. The Independence Arch stands at the entrance, inscribed with the words “Freedom and Justice” and the year 1957. It marks Ghana’s struggle for independence and honours the soldiers who died in the fight for it. Across the parade ground, the Black Star Gate carries a large black star, the symbol at the centre of Ghana’s flag.
The black star itself came from Marcus Garvey’s Black Star Line, the shipping company Garvey founded in 1919 as part of his movement for African self-reliance. Nkrumah admired Garvey, and the symbol turned up in the flag, the national football team’s name and the name of the national shipping line.
What happens there
The parade ground is huge, and the stands along its sides seat about 30,000 people. Independence Day parades on 6 March, presidential inaugurations, state funerals, national prayer events and large concerts have all been held there. Ghanaians who marched in school contingents on 6 March can often still describe the heat of the tarmac and the long wait for the salute.
The square has also hosted moments nobody planned. It has been used for religious crusades, protest gatherings and, in quieter times, driving lessons, football matches and early morning jogs by people from nearby Osu and Ridge.
Beside the sea
The square sits on the coast road in Osu, facing the Gulf of Guinea. The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the Osu Castle and the old Parliament House are all a short drive away, which makes the area the historical centre of the modern state. Tour buses stop at the Arch for photographs, and guides point out the eternal flame nearby, lit by Nkrumah and dedicated to African liberation.
The Queen died in 2022. The square built for her visit is still where Ghana holds the ceremony it cares about most: the 6 March march past, with the President taking the salute under the black star.
