KIGALI, Oct 13 – Rwanda has secured a 10-year agreement to host a Formula One Grand Prix from the early 2030s, marking the championship’s return to Africa after more than four decades of absence from the continent’s racing calendar.
Formula One last held a race in Africa in 1993 at South Africa’s Kyalami circuit near Johannesburg. The agreement positions Rwanda as the next African country to host a round of the championship, which began in 1950.
Formula One Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali announced the agreement in Kigali alongside Rwandan President Paul Kagame and International Automobile Federation President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
“Today is a landmark moment for Formula One,” Domenicali said. “With Rwanda joining the calendar from the next decade, our sport will race in every inhabited continent, bringing the world championship closer than ever to fans around the globe.”
“Africa has always been part of Formula One’s future, and from the beginning we were determined to return in the right way, with the right partner, a long-term commitment and a clear vision for creating meaningful impact.”
Circuit and Airport Development
Rwanda’s plans centre on a purpose-built circuit designed to meet Formula One’s Grade One requirements near Bugesera International Airport, which is under construction approximately 40 kilometres south of Kigali. The circuit is expected to be completed in the early 2030s.
Kagame announced the country’s bid two years ago, presenting the race as part of a broader effort to attract international investment, expand tourism and strengthen Rwanda’s position as a destination for major sporting events.
Domenicali said the agreement extends beyond the race itself, with potential economic and social benefits linked to tourism and investment. He also pointed to Formula One’s expanding African audience.
“For our fans this is an especially exciting moment,” he said. “Africa is home to more than 100 million Formula One fans and that number continues to grow rapidly.”
Kagame described the agreement as a long-term investment in the country’s economic development.
“Today belongs to Africa,” he said. “For more than three decades, the world’s premier motorsport championship has raced without this continent and that changes with this agreement.
“This 10-year partnership is also an investment in Rwanda’s future. The circuit… alongside the new international airport, will bring jobs, skills, tourism and new business to our country and our region for decades to come.”
South Africa Remains Interested in Hosting F1
The agreement does not necessarily end South Africa’s efforts to return Formula One to the continent. Officials have continued to explore the possibility of staging a race in Cape Town or at the Kyalami circuit.
South African Sports Minister Gayton Mackenzie recently welcomed Rwanda’s progress, noting that the country had pursued its bid for longer than South Africa.
“We are happy for Rwanda’s 2030 F1,” he wrote on X last week amid reports that an announcement was imminent. “They have worked on it longer than SA and deserve it.”
He added: “Some react like a continent of 55 countries can only get one,” pointing to Italy’s previous experience of hosting two races in a season and suggesting that South Africa could still pursue its own opportunity.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has also repeatedly called for Formula One to return to Africa. Speaking to reporters in Singapore the previous weekend, the Ferrari driver said: “I’ve always said that we need to have a Grand Prix in Africa. It is, for me, the most important continent and the most beautiful continent. We’re on all the other continents but that one and there should be no reason for it.”
Morocco hosted a championship race outside Casablanca in 1958, making it the other African country to have staged a Formula One Grand Prix.
Rwanda’s Global Sporting Strategy
The Formula One agreement builds on Rwanda’s broader campaign to raise its international profile through sports and tourism. The country’s “Visit Rwanda” brand has featured in football club sponsorships, basketball and cycling, while Rwanda hosted the 2025 UCI Road World Championships, the 2023 FIFA Congress and the 2024 FIA Awards ceremony.
A Formula One race would give the country another platform to promote tourism and attract international business, although the scale of the economic returns will depend on the cost of hosting the event, infrastructure investment and the extent to which spending reaches local businesses.
Rwanda’s investment ambitions also sit alongside international scrutiny of its domestic political environment and its role in the conflict in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. Kagame has received recognition from some international leaders for his role in Rwanda’s post-genocide reconstruction, while rights groups have accused his government of suppressing critics and alleged that Rwanda supports the M23 rebel group in eastern Congo. The Rwandan government’s role in the conflict has been a point of international contention.
For Formula One, the agreement marks a significant step towards restoring a presence on the African continent. For Rwanda, it adds a major international sporting event to a strategy built around tourism, infrastructure development and attracting global investment.
