Not often does the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA, hold its awards (and annual general assembly) on African soil. That in fact had never happened, until Kigali hosted the general assembly – from December 10 to 13 when it culminated into the glamorous awards presentation gala at BK Arena, where everyone that’s anyone in the motorsport world was in attendance. In a ceremony graced by President Kagame, who presented superstar driver Max Verstappen of Red Bull his trophy as 2024 Formula 1 champion, there were many bold-name personalities, including FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, drivers Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, as well as notable guests like American TV personality Steve Harvey. ALSO READ: Kagame hosts cocktail reception for FIA delegates In terms of organisation and execution of the landmark event – which was hosted by the Rwanda Automobile Club, and counted Rolex, Hankook, AlphaTauri and Rwandair as partners – it left many in awe. This was first class organising, with everything down to the minutest detail orchestrated with precision. In short, Rwanda had again dazzled – if you will excuse me for expressing some nationalistic pride (though, as Kagame pointed out, this feat of organisation can be seen as a success for Africa as a whole). And so, when the president later during the FIA General Assembly revealed the country had launched a bid to host an F1 grand prix, it did not sound far-fetched that Rwanda could pull it off. Personally, I almost feel fully certain F1 racing will come here, however big the task seems to be. And there are many others who feel so. A sampling of Rwandans on social media will show that close to everyone posting their thoughts on the possibility was of the opinion it’s only a matter of time before we see construction start on (a proposed) F1 track in Bugesera, followed by F1 grand prix races there. This is how optimistic we’ve become as a country. Yet it isn’t merely a matter of optimism. Because even the naysayers and scoffers; the people that invest a lot of energy in propaganda to sabotage anything the Kagame administration sets out to achieve, seemed unusually subdued after the awards. They, with their silence, seemed resigned to the very possibility of F1 racing coming to the Land of a Thousand Hills, however big the costs of building a circuit are (those that know say building one, and related infrastructure, can cost upwards of a billion US dollars). President Kagame’s words, after he revealed Rwanda’s bid to host one of annual sport’s biggest events, included the key phrase “building with partners”. That lays to rest concerns about whether funding for the project can be found. More than that however, what made almost everyone certain about Rwanda’s chances of bringing grand prix racing back to Africa (the last race on the continent was in 1993, at the Kyalami Circuit in Johannesburg) is the reputation Kagame and his administration has built, of delivering on things they say, promise, or set out to do, and usually they go for truly big things. They have the track record, and track records do not lie. Rwandans of a certain age will remember, a half-dozen or so years after our national tragedy, back in the times when very few gave the country any chance of recovering to a semblance of a functioning state, the outcry – by foreigners and mostly those that wished us anything good – that followed when it was announced Rwanda was planning to build a five-star hotel. Imagine that; people getting upset that a recovering country wanted a good hotel to accommodate high-end visitors! It wasn’t a priority, and it was a waste of resources! cried the critics. Who would visit Rwanda anyway! They went on and on. Anyway, they concluded, Rwanda, in the state it’s in, can’t build anything like a five-star hotel. How little these critics thought of Rwanda! The government simply ignored them and pressed ahead with its plans, upon which hinged a strategy to kickstart the country’s dead tourism industry, to earn foreign currency and hence reduce dependency on handouts. Rwanda built the hotel, which was subsequently purchased by the Serena group of Kenya. It was a resounding success, so much so that there are several others in Rwanda of the same category, and even bigger. Did the naysayers learn a lesson from that? Not on your life! They again clamored with negative energy when Rwanda announced it was building a big, modern convention center – an ambition to enhance a nascent tourism industry that wouldn’t be complete without world-class facilities to host big international meetings. That too was built, complete with an adjacent luxury hotel. At every stage of Rwanda’s journey on building a thriving, integrated tourism industry, which now includes a strategy to harness the power of sport to sell the country, the critics have never kept quiet. What they have learnt however is to never speak up again to say “Rwanda can’t do this”. It most probably will do this, and for that, let those that wish the best for this country raise a glass – to optimism, and to all that’s possible when people will it.
