This year, we are having a bonus festive season – in the middle of the year – and a distinctly earthly type. The usual one, a marvellous mix of religious and secular festivities will, of course, come at the end of the year and beginning of next. The last two months, now running into August, have been an eventful period so full of fun and excitement that we hardly feel the seasonal heat. Here at home, from June 22 to July 15, we had a three-week festival that travelled across the whole country. That festival, also known as the general election, was capped by victory celebrations on the night of July 15 at the Intare Conference Arena and smaller thank-you festivities since then. The mother of all celebrations – the inauguration of President Paul Kagame - is coming soon, in the first weeks of August. Most of the other excitement has, however, come from the world of sports. About a week before polling day, an East and Central African clubs football tournament kicked off in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and ended on July 21. The tournament is better known as the Kagame Interclub Cup. It is so called because President Kagame has been sponsoring the tournament since 2001. Naturally, Rwandans always have an interest in the outcome of the tournament. This year, it was even greater as the APR Football Club was taking part and had reached the final of the competition. In the end, APR lost to Zambia’s Red Arrows on penalties after extra time. The loss denied Rwandans another occasion to celebrate.. Still getting to the final was enough reason to rejoice. The tourney also turned up another pleasant surprise. Sudanese clubs, Al-Hilal and Al-Wadi took third and fourth place respectively, despite the country being in the middle of a destructive war. The fact that Kagame sponsors the tournament might have escaped the attention of his and Rwanda’s critics who have attacked him for the Visit Rwanda sponsorship deal with Arsenal, Paris St Germain and Bayern Munich football clubs, and now also the partnership with the NBA. More likely, they simply ignored it. Perhaps because it is an African competition and does not attract a big global audience. Not enough reason to send them scrambling for brush and ugly paint, and ugly words with which to tarnish the country. The fact is, Kagame’s and Rwanda’s involvement in sports in and outside the country has been going on for longer than the Visit Rwanda deals with European football clubs or partnership with the American basketball body. That they take issue with some and ignore others is another example of the hypocrisy of some of these critics. In the same period, we had one month of football fun coming from Europe that ended fittingly in Spain, the team that played the most exciting and entertaining football, winning the championship for a record fourth time. From June 14 to July 14, European countries tussled it out in the Uefa European Championships in Germany. For tennis lovers, there was Wimbledon, from July 1 to 14 and before that, the French Open in Paris. The men’s event of both tournaments was won by Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, a young man whose rising star perhaps signals the end of the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal-Novak Djokovic era of dominance of the game. And now to cap the sports fest, the Olympic Games which opened in Paris, France on Friday July 26 and will run up to August 11. For these two weeks, we will be treated to displays of talent by the world’s best athletes. That should keep us entertained and out of mischief. The opening ceremony is always a scene to behold. The hosting city pulls out all the stops to stage a spectacular, memorable event, displaying the nation’s history, culture and technology, and at the same time, global togetherness. The French did all that and more. The traditional parade of national Olympic teams on opening day usually takes place in a stadium. This time it was a floating procession of boats on the River Seine, punctuated by musical interludes and displays of other aspects of French and global culture. As always, the athletes were resplendent in their national colours and unique attire. This part of the ceremony always draws the loudest cheers from the spectators on scene and from across the world. The games could not have come at a better time for the French. They provide useful relief from the stressful, divisive politics of the last few months. They can now relax and forget the political quarrels and fear of the far right taking over power, and the scheming and calculating to keep them out. For the moment, at least. It is, of course, well known that sport is a great unifier. We applaud the achievement of individual athletes regardless of where they come from. Except, of course, when they are competing against and beating our own. The joy then turns into pain. But it is also a divider, especially as politics is never far. The feeling of togetherness becomes loose after opening day. After that spectators become partisan and claim the athletes’ achievements for their nations. National passions rise. Flags wave. National anthems or similar hymns ring out. All perfectly normal, of course Sport would not be what it is if it was not competitive, if the desire to win, to be the best, or a single mindedness and even ruthlessness were absent. That obviously means relegating others to second place or worse. Winning becomes easy when the whole stadium or nation is behind you, cheering you, urging you to summon that extra energy. The desire to reward and not disappoint supporters plays a big part in winning. We are going to see a lot of that in the coming days, and a lot of celebrations and also heartbreak. I do not know how much of either we can expect from Rwandans. Still, we wish our athletes every success, and we will enjoy what is on display.
