The Ekiti State Government has issued a ban on a planned three-day kissing marathon aimed at setting a Guinness World Record in the state. A group known as Sugartee had scheduled the event to take place in a popular amusement park in the state capital, Ado, starting on July 7. However, the Ministry of Arts and Culture, in a letter addressed to the Ekiti State Hoteliers Association, expressed concerns about the event and threatened to sanction any facility that hosted it.
The letter, signed by the Director of Tourism, Adebanji Adelusi, stated that the planned event, called ‘Kiss-a-thon,’ was deemed absurd, immoral, unhealthy, and capable of tarnishing the image of Ekiti State. The government argued that the event contradicted the values of the state and could have a negative impact on the moral values of its youth.
As a result, the Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Tourism officially prohibited the event, as well as any related events of a similar nature, in any facility that wished to continue operating lawfully in Ekiti State.
It is worth noting that Ekiti State has recently seen other marathon events, such as a 120-hour cooking marathon completed by a chef known as Chef Dammy in Ilupeju-Ekiti, and an ongoing attempt by Chef DEO in Ile-Oluji, Ondo State, to set the longest world cooking marathon of 150 hours.
