October 13 2026 18:30
Supplied by Getty Images
Formula 1 is coming back to Africa. On Tuesday, the sport’s owners and the government of Rwanda signed a 10-year agreement to stage the Formula 1 African Grand Prix, presented by Visit Rwanda, at a purpose-built circuit south of the capital, Kigali.
The deal was unveiled at a press conference in Kigali attended by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
The first race is expected early in the next decade, with 2030 the earliest possible date. The exact start depends on when construction of the track is completed.
It will be the first world championship grand prix on the continent since the 1993 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, north of Johannesburg, ending a gap of more than three decades.
For property watchers, the most important detail is not the race itself but where it will be held and what it is attached to.
The circuit will be built in Bugesera, about 40km south of Kigali, right next to the new Kigali International Airport, which is still under construction. It will be developed to FIA Grade 1 standards as part of a wider sports, tourism and commercial project led by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
The layout is being drawn up by WurzDesign, the circuit design firm run by former F1 driver Alexander Wurz. It will use the area’s natural elevation changes to create a demanding lap and strong sightlines for spectators. Wurz’s firm is also working alongside Tilke Engineering on Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya Speed Park.
In effect, Rwanda is treating the circuit the way a South African developer would treat a regional mall or a stadium: as the anchor that gives a greenfield node its reason to exist. Pair a grand prix with an international airport and you have a site that can attract hotels, hospitality, logistics, conferencing and, eventually, residential and commercial development around it.
The RDB is clearly thinking along those lines. A race weekend happens once a year. The real return will come from what is built around the track and how much of it is used on the other 362 days.
“Today belongs to Africa”
Kagame opened the announcement by declaring that “today belongs to Africa”, noting that the championship had raced without the continent for more than 30 years.
He framed the 10-year agreement as an investment in Rwanda’s future. The Bugesera circuit, he said, would bring jobs, skills, tourism and new business to Rwanda and the wider region for decades. The goal, he added, was never a single race weekend but a lasting benefit for Rwandans, including young Africans who could one day work in the sport as engineers, technicians, entrepreneurs and drivers.
Domenicali called it “a landmark moment for Formula 1”. With Rwanda on the calendar, F1 will race on every inhabited continent. He said Africa is home to more than 100 million F1 fans and that the partnership could create lasting economic and social benefits through tourism, investment, skills development and local business growth.
Ben Sulayem described the return as historic for the sport. He said Rwanda had shown a strong commitment to delivering a world-class event and that the FIA would work with Formula One Management to make sure the new circuit is built to the highest international standards.
How Kigali got pole position
Rwanda’s bid has been years in the making. In December 2024, Kigali hosted the FIA General Assemblies and annual Prize Giving Ceremony, the first time the governing body held them in Africa. Kagame used the occasion to formally announce the bid.
The move was met with scepticism in the paddock at the time, largely because Rwanda had no venue capable of staging a grand prix. Domenicali, however, had already described the plan as serious and said it would be based on a permanent track rather than a street circuit.
Kagame kept up the pressure, attending races including the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the Singapore Grand Prix, and maintaining regular contact with both Domenicali and Ben Sulayem.
The bid also fits a broader national strategy. Rwanda has used football, basketball and cycling to raise its profile and attract investment. Its Visit Rwanda brand appears on Arsenal’s shirts, and Kigali hosted the UCI Road World Championships in cycling last year.
Last week, AFP reported that sources in the Rwandan government and close to the FIA had confirmed a deal was done, with Qatar said to be supporting the project. The official statements released on Tuesday made no mention of that reported backing, or of how the circuit will be paid for.
There is room on the calendar too. The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort drops off the schedule after this season, and Domenicali has previously floated rotating some European rounds.
South Africa, which last hosted F1 at Kyalami, and Morocco were also in the running to bring the sport back to the continent. Rwanda’s win is a setback for those ambitions, but not necessarily the end of them.
Sports minister Gayton McKenzie was gracious when the deal first leaked, posting on X that Rwanda had worked on its bid longer and deserved it. He also insisted that “SA will get F1, even before 2030.” Whether there is room for a second African round within the next few years remains to be seen.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, the most vocal advocate for an African race, has named Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa as the places he would most like F1 to visit. Speaking ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix at the weekend, he described Africa as the most beautiful continent and said there was no reason for F1 to be absent from it.
For South Africa’s hospitality and events sector, a Kigali race creates a new regional competitor for high-spending event tourists. It also sets a benchmark: a government-led precinct built around a single marquee event and a new airport, rather than an upgrade of an existing venue.
The deal will not be without its critics. Opponents of Kagame’s government have long accused Rwanda of “sportswashing”, using high-profile events to polish its international image. Rwandan officials, including Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe, counter that sport is part of a deliberate strategy to drive economic growth and global visibility.
The bpractical question is delivery. The circuit has not yet been built, and the airport it is meant to sit beside is still under construction. F1 has deliberately avoided committing to a firm date, saying only that the first race will take place once the venue is complete.
Key details remain unclear, including the cost of the circuit and wider precinct, who is funding it, and how Kigali’s hotel stock will be expanded to cope with a grand prix crowd.
If Rwanda delivers on time, Bugesera could become one of the most closely watched new property and tourism nodes in Africa. If it slips, the 2030 target may yet become a 2032 or 2033 debut. Either way, after 33 years, F1’s road back to Africa now runs through Kigali.
247@propertyflash.co.za
