Rwanda has secured a 10-year agreement to host Formula One, positioning the East African country to bring the championship back to the continent for the first time since 1993.
- Rwanda has secured a 10-year agreement to host a Formula One Grand Prix.
- Racing is expected to begin in the early 2030s, once a new circuit is completed.
- The Bugesera venue will form part of a wider tourism and commercial development.
- The exact first-race date, hosting fees and project cost have not been disclosed.
Announced on 13 October, the agreement provides for racing to begin in the early 2030s, after a purpose-built circuit is completed in Bugesera.
The venue is planned approximately 40 kilometres south of Kigali, beside the new Kigali International Airport, linking the country’s motorsport ambitions with its transport and tourism development.
For Rwanda, the agreement advances a strategy of using international sporting events to attract visitors, strengthen its global profile and create opportunities for local businesses.
According to Formula One’s official announcement, the event will be called the Formula 1 African Grand Prix, presented by Visit Rwanda. Its inaugural date and construction milestones will be announced later.
The agreement turns Rwanda’s earlier hosting ambition into a confirmed long-term arrangement. It does not establish that racing will begin in 2030: the announced timetable remains the early part of the next decade.
A circuit with a wider business purpose
The proposed venue will be developed to FIA Grade 1 standards, the standard required for Formula One circuits.
Design work is continuing through a collaboration between WurzDesign, headed by former F1 driver Alex Wurz, and Tilke Engineers and Architects. The layout is intended to use Bugesera’s natural elevation changes.
The project’s commercial ambitions extend beyond an annual race. The venue is intended to accommodate other motorsport events, conferences and entertainment throughout the year.
That would give hotels, transport operators and event businesses opportunities beyond a single Grand Prix weekend. However, the announcement contains no quantified forecast for visitor spending, employment or returns on investment.
Africa returns to the calendar
Formula One last raced in Africa at South Africa’s Kyalami circuit in 1993. Rwanda’s agreement follows years of efforts to restore an African round to the championship.
Rwanda announced its bid in 2024 and would become the third African country to host a championship race, following South Africa and Morocco. Morocco hosted a round near Casablanca in 1958.
“This is about much more than hosting a Grand Prix,” Formula One president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali said in the announcement.
F1 estimates that more than 100 million people across Africa follow the sport, providing an audience for its return. That is an audience estimate, rather than a forecast of race attendance.
The agreement builds on Rwanda’s existing international-events strategy, which has included the Basketball Africa League, the 2023 FIFA Congress and the 2025 UCI Road World Championships.
Formula One would add another globally recognised event to that portfolio, while the proposed circuit and neighbouring airport could support a broader tourism and business destination.