President Paul Kagame announced on Friday Rwanda would bid to host a Formula One race in the capital Kigali.<\/p>\n
The Great Lakes nation has been actively pursuing plans to host an F1 Grand Prix, aiming to return the sport to Africa for the first time since 1993.<\/p>\n
It is the latest step in the country\u2019s broader strategy to use sports to enhance economic growth, tourism, and global visibility \u2014 denounced by critics of Kagame\u2019s government as \u2018sportwashing\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am happy to formally announce that Rwanda is bidding to bring the thrill of racing back to Africa, by hosting a Formula One Grand Prix,\u201d Kagame said at the opening of FIA General Assemblies in Kigali.<\/p>\n
The Rwandan leader welcomed the FIA General Assembly being held on the continent as an \u201cimportant milestone\u201d<\/p>\n
It signalled the \u201cgoal of the motorsport industry to connect directly with fans and aspiring drivers in Africa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all comes down to respect, and giving everyone the chance to contribute, where they can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Critics, including Kagame\u2019s opponents, have accused his administration of sportswashing \u2014 using high-profile international events to enhance its global reputation, while masking serious human rights abuses, muzzling free speech and curtailing political freedoms.<\/p>\n
In August, Formula One chiefs confirmed talks with Rwanda over hosting a Grand Prix, with CEO Stefano Domenicali saying the country was a \u201cserious\u201d option.<\/p>\n
Domenicali told Motorsport.com Kigali had presented a serious plan, and that the race would be held on a permanent track.<\/p>\n
The announcement will also delight one of the sport\u2019s biggest superstars, Lewis Hamilton.<\/p>\n
The seven-time world champion has long called for an African stop on the F1 circuit, backing Rwanda\u2019s plans in August and calling the country \u201cone of my favourite places\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing that they\u2019re so keen to get it,\u201d he told ESPN.<\/p>\n
The post Rwanda announces intention to bid for Formula One Grand Prix<\/a> appeared first on KBC<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President Paul Kagame announced on Friday Rwanda would bid to host a Formula One race in the capital Kigali. The Great Lakes nation has been actively pursuing plans to host an F1 Grand Prix, aiming to return the sport to Africa for the first time since 1993. It is the latest step in the country\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105195\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}