The organization that owns it Formula 1 and the government of Rwanda have agreed to hold the first F1 Grand Prix of Rwanda after 2030, writes AFP. Two sources close to the Rwandan government indicated that the Rwandan administration will in due course release information about the event, which would represent the first Grand Prix race on the African continent since the South African Grand Prix in 1993.
– An agreement has been reached on holding the race after 2030 – said one of the sources, describing the news as a big step forward for that country.
A source close to the International Automobile Federation (FIA), which governs the sport but does not own it, mentioned a press conference scheduled for next week in Kigali, the capital of the East African country.
“We are looking forward to the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Rwanda,” South Africa’s Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie wrote on Platform X. “They have been working on this bid longer than South Africa and they deserve it,” he added, noting that the two countries were competing in an effort to bring Formula 1 back to Africa.
Rwanda is a hilly country in the Great Lakes region of Africa, slightly smaller than Belgium, the country that colonized it from the 1920s until independence in 1962. Its history was marked by the genocide against the Tutsis in 1994, in which 800,000 people lost their lives, mostly members of that community, but also moderate Hutus.
Since then, Rwanda, under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, has undergone an economic transformation that is clearly visible in the capital, Kigali. Nevertheless, critics of Kagame, who was re-elected for a fourth term last year with 99.18 percent of the vote, accuse him of ruling the country with his left hand and stifling any opposition. Kagame also decided to promote his country through sports, last year Rwanda became the first African country to host the World Cycling Championship.
Through the “Visit Rwanda” logo, Kigali sponsors several major European football clubs – Paris SG, Atlético Madrid and Aston Villa – as well as the Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) basketball franchise.