Over three decades, Formula 1 is set to return to Africa following an agreement of 10-year partnership to bring the African Grand Prix to the World Championship in early 2030s.
Rwanda is set to host the F1 at Bugesera, 40 km south of Kigali. The last time F1 raced in Africa was in 1993, at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa. F1 has confirmed this at a ceremony in Kigali and revealed the lucrative decade deal.
The event is likely to provoke Rwanda’s human rights record and accusations of sports washing, as seen in the past with the country’s sponsorships of Arsenal and Aston Villa.
President Paul Kagame has welcomed sports event, saying he is proud Rwanda will host the F1 African Grand Prix and young people deserve to see the sport at home.
“For more than three decades, the world’s premier motorsport championship has raced without this continent, and that changes with this agreement. Rwanda is proud to host the Formula 1 African Grand Prix, and to share this moment with more than 100 million fans across Africa, many of them young people who deserve to see the sport at home and to see themselves in it: as engineers, technicians, entrepreneurs and, one day, drivers,” Kagame said.
F1 President Stefano Domenicali thanked President Kagame for accepting the Formula 1 to be held in his country, as it will bring fans across the globe.
“Today is a landmark moment for Formula 1. With Rwanda joining the calendar from the next decade, our sport will race on every inhabited continent, bringing the World Championship closer than ever to fans around the globe,” Domenicali said.
He added “Africa is home to more than 100 million Formula 1 fans, and that number continues to grow rapidly. We are bringing the excitement, energy and drama of Formula 1 closer to millions of people who have waited a long time to see our sport return to the continent, and we look forward to writing an exciting new chapter together.”
The planned African Prix is expected to showcase Rwanda’s modernity while highlighting its cultural heritage. It is also expected to boost the economy in tourism, create jobs and improve hospitality of the nation.
