Rwanda to host a Grand Prix in 2030s as Formula One returns to Africa

For the first time this century, Formula One is heading back to Africa. Rwanda has been locked in as the sport's latest destination and fans have been given a first look at plans for a new circuit. It's going to be built in Bugesera, 40 kilometres south of the capital, Kigali, near a new international airport. The country has signed a 10-year deal to host races from the early 2030s. For our fans around the world, this is an incredibly exciting moment. We have over 800 million fans around the world, and Africa is home to more than 100 million fans of Formula 1. And that community continues to grow at an extraordinary pace. The announcement will be welcomed by seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, who spent years pushing for a race in Africa. Why are we not in Africa? We're on every other continent. Why not Africa? I don't want to leave the sport without having a Grand Prix there, without getting to race there. Rwanda first bid for an F1 race in 2024, the same year it hosted motorsports end of season awards. President Paul Kagame has used sport to drive investment and tourism in the country more than three decades after the 1994 genocide. The Visit Rwanda campaign sponsors football, basketball and cycling with the Road World Championships held in Rwanda last year. Ultimately what we want is for the African Grand Prix to pave the way for other races to be hosted on the continent. Rwanda will be the third African country to host F1 races. Morocco had one back in 1958 in Casablanca. And there were 33 Grand Prix in South Africa up until 1993. South Africa has its own ambitions to return to the calendar. And now, with the Rwanda deal done, it will hope F1 can make space for more than one race on the continent. David Stokes, Al Jazeera.