Latest / Drive with John Perlman / Rwanda to host F1's first race in Africa since 1993

Transcript

Rwanda to host F1's first race in Africa since 1993 · Drive with John Perlman

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You're with John Perlman on 702.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: 702 Drive, it's quarter past four. One of the big
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: stories of the week and arguably one of the most
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: intriguing has been the news that the country of Rwanda
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: has signed a 10-year agreement with Formula One to host
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Grand Prixs in that country. The start date is somewhere
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: in the 2030s, we assume early in that particular decade
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: and And there's been a lot of discussion about what
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: it's going to take to actually get Rwanda up and
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: running to host its first Grand Prix, which may well
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: be the first Grand Prix on the African continent since 1993.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: The last one held in Johannesburg at Kailami Race 1.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: by one of the legends of the sport, Alain Prost.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: So let's try and understand better what Rwanda is in
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: for and what they plan to do with the opportunity.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Joining me on 702 Drive is Minister of Sports in
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: the Republic of Rwanda. We say a very good afternoon
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: to Minister Nelly Mukazayire. Minister, welcome and thanks very much
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: for giving us your time.
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: Thank you for having me.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: So it will obviously cost a lot of money for
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: Rwanda to do this. There will be the fees, I'm sure,
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: that would be payable to the FIA, to Liberty Media,
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: and then the cost of actually building a new track
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: from scratch. What tip the countries, your country's decision in
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: favor of doing this? What benefits do you think you're
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: going to accrue?
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: Thank you very much.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: I think it's important to put this in context that
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: this did not happen at this point overnight. It reflects
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: a vision and a leadership of President Paul Kagame that
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: has already not only looked at consistently supporting Africa's place
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: in global sport, but in particular, making Rwanda become a hub,
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: a hub for tourism, a hub for service, a hub
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: for investment and also sport.
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: So first, it's important to look at this as a.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: Long-term investment that we expect to see the return. Obviously,
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: if you look at today, the scale of the opportunity
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: of Formula One globally, Formula One has reported a global
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: fund base of almost 827 million 2025 and generating huge
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: revenues to the different economies where it takes place. Now
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: they estimate that Grand Prix can generate more than... a
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: million pounds in an annual economic impact.
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: For a host country. So this is what we look at.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: We look at the revenues that we expect to get
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: from hosting such an event, which is proven by experience
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: that has happened in so many countries. But we also
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: look at the ripple effect of the big vision we
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: want to achieve from people coming for tourism, from new
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: investment that will come in the country, from the entertainment
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: that gives job opportunities to creative industry and other industries.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: So over the period of the.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: 10 years to start with, we look at a total
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: social and economic transformation through being able to host this
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: event or this competition.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: When people are pitching big events for countries, and we
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: know from our own experience in hosting the World Cup
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: in 2010, the numbers and everything else suggests that this
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: is a no brainer. In reality, though, the cost of
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: staging these events, and I accept that a Grand Prix
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: is not like a multi-stadium and multi-city event like a
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: World Cup, but invariably, Minister, and I don't know if
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: you factored this into your planning, the costs are higher
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: and the rewards are sometimes not quite what we're expected.
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: Where do you derive your confidence that this is actually, A,
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: first going to balance the books and secondly, put you
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: well into the black?
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: First of all, is the fact that we look at it,
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: as I said, as a long-term investment. And over time,
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: you're able to materialize and to make productive the investment
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: you're making. And from our experience, this is a journey
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: we've been going through over the last years, starting from
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: having Basketball African League, other events, FIFA Congress, FIA General Assembly.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: We hosted the 2025 UCI Road World Championship.
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: And today, in 2025, We.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Were able to welcome 1.49 million visitors and we earned
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: more than 685 million in tourism revenues. And these are
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: things we've been able to track over the years that
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: they can generate revenues. And it's not only into tourism,
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: the effect, the foreign direct investment magnitude we've got into
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: these years, the interest, the visibility the country gets in
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: terms of broadcasting, in terms of other activities, ripple effect,
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: I may say, this is where we derive confidence that
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: indeed we need to get focused in how we make
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: sure we deliver to this so that it can be
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: beneficial to our people and to the African continent.
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah. If you, if you look back on your sponsorship
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: of Arsenal and, and you've started a similar deal, uh,
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: with Aston Villa after the, the end of the sponsorship of, of,
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: of the premier league champions, um, How did you measure
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: the value that you achieved? I mean, presumably you would
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: do tourism research, for example, and people will tell you
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: why they're visiting the country where they first became aware
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: of it as a destination and so on. How did
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: you measure the value of the sponsorship of that club
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: against what you achieved in terms of returns?
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: There are much variables that one can use when you
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: want to assess what is the impact of an investment
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: you've made. But I want to also emphasize that the
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: first target the country has always had was even to
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: start promoting the country through Visit Rwanda brand into a
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: whole strategy of deriving revenues that come from tourism in
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: the country.
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: So we have numbers. We have numbers which we can share.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: In details, if you're more interested, Rwanda Development Board has
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: released a report.
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: That shows that. Other variables, of course, are the.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: Number of interest you see and the number of people
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: who come in the country beyond the tourism and number
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: of investment you.
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: See coming in the country.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: And without really ignoring the fact that football is one
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: of the mass population events or sport competition globally, When
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: you're reaching out to millions and millions of viewers, there
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: are so many effects you get, the direct and indirect
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: one in the economy. So these have been fruitful and
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: not only to the tourism.
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: But also in sports.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: The partnerships we have with these different clubs have also
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: been beneficial to our sport industry in terms of growing talent,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: in terms of growing activity. coaching, training in terms of
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: sport investment in the country. So there's so many variables
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: we look at. And up to now, we are confident
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: and strongly believe we see that these events and this
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: partnership have been beneficial to the country.
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: When you've embarked on similar ventures, and we're staying with
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: a football example, Minister, there was criticism, for example, in Holland,
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: which is a country that provides Rwanda with aid, saying...
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: Why is money being then recycled and given back to
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: one of the world's richest football clubs invariably when you
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: take steps like that and similarly embark on something like
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: a Grand Prix, which despite its popularity remains an elite sport?
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: Have you engaged with your major aid partners and given
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: them a heads up and said, listen, this is why
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: we're doing it? And if you have, was there any
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: pushback on that?
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: Every move the country has been making is already set
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: in a vision. A vision, we already have a vision
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: of where we want to get in 2050 and the
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: steps we have to follow. And a vision of thinking big,
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: as the president, Paul Kagame, keeps emphasizing so many times.
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: It doesn't exclude that we continue investing in our people.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: These two, investing in education, health, agriculture, and other sector,
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: is not mutually exclusive with investing in growth.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: We're a country... that looks at.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: Where the opportunities are with a country that looks at
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: future and taps into where everybody's tapping when it goes
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: to resources and ability to grow our own economies and
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: the wellbeing of our people. So we focus, we stay
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: focused on the vision we have and where we see
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: it can be beneficial and transform. And in the end,
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: the aim is that we can be self-sufficient. Where we
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: are heading is in terms of making sure we build
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: our own capacity to be self-sufficient and to grow our.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: Own economies. By the way, do you have a start date?
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: I mean, we've all just been saying sometime in the 2030s.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: Is there a year when you hope to be ready by?
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: Is there anything contractually concluded with the FIA in regard
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: to the very first Grand Prix in Rwanda?
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: Our contractual agreement is hosting a Grand Prix, African Grand
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: Prix every year for the next 10 years, starting in
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: the early 30s, 2030s. And the reason why is because
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: we are having a lot of things we have to
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: set as we move towards the exact date, which includes
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: building a whole new state of art race circuit and
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: so many other facilities around. So we both as partners
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: agreed to leave in a room to fix a date
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: in the coming days when we would be tracking the
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: move and how we're getting ready in terms of the
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: initial and important infrastructure that have to be set.
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: But yes, the indication is early 2030s.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: I'm just looking, and I mean, it varies hugely, Minister,
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: from Grand Prix to Grand Prix. For example, at Silverstone
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: in the UK, almost half a million people attend. You
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: get similar numbers at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: What you get with the Grand Prix is a surge
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: of people over a fairly short space of time, for
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: which I would assume you would need to increase hotel
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: capacity and make other investments. The concern some people might
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: have is, what are you going to do with that
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: infrastructure through the rest of the year? Because you certainly
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: wouldn't have that many people in Kigali in a relatively
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: ordinary month.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: Over the years, we've been positioning ourselves as a country
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: that has developed a sector of meetings, events and conferences.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: If you look at our track record, We currently even
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: have more or less yearly full calendar of different events.
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: And it is in the same perspective we will continue
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: investing in.
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: The circuit we are going.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: To build and the facilities around are going to be multi-purpose.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: We are looking at different type of usage, conferences, exhibition,
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: other motorsports and other sports. It is in a global
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: master plan of Airport City where we are planning to
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: have an entertainment and sport hub. So all those are
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: part of a vision and a strategy that is not
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: only looking at Formula One. Formula One comes in as
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: a catalyst and as one of the products, but the
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: vision is bigger than that. So we intentionally are looking
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: at having a yearly calendar that is full of different ways.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: And you must be knowing those facilities are also used
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: by different companies that want to do exhibitions of new products,
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: new cars. So there's much that we are going to
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: be doing because indeed we believe this is a sector
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: where you have to have multi-services and multi-events happening so
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: that you get the return on investment.
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: And finally, Minister, whenever an announcement like this is made,
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: and you will be more than familiar with the kind
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: of criticisms, first of all, coming from your neighbours in
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: the DRC, organisations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: have criticised not only the internal politics of your country,
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: but also your relationships with your neighbours to the east
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: and the conflicts that have been ongoing there. For a while,
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: you'd be familiar with the argument that this is an
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: attempt to burnish your image in the world community by
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: associating it with popular sports. That will be, I'm sure,
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: something you'll be confronted with, not just you, but your
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: colleagues as well, over the months to come. What's your
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: response to that criticism?
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: First of all, there's nothing to watch on our image
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: because the image of Rwanda has been For so many years,
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: a country, even by data and facts, a country that
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: is quickly developing, we are among the fastest growing economies
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: in Africa. We've had an image of a country that's stable,
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: that is having a vision and that is really progressing
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: in terms of even how we participate in our own
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: agenda to become a country stable.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: That is developing.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: So when people bring those arguments, this is the double
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: standard aspect, which we believe is really outdated and should
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: no longer be subject to conversation. When Western countries and
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: other countries in the world are tapping into opportunities like
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: sports and these events, it becomes a vision and then
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: the forward thinking. But when an African country or Rwanda
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: is looking at that, it becomes another interpretation of It
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: becomes a sports worship.
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: Why? We are looking ahead.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: We are a country that has a vision and tap
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: into opportunities that everybody else is tapping into. We know
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: that sport is growing with huge impact when it comes
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: to competition, when it comes.
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: To ability, to industries and so forth.
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: The process of what is happening with neighboring countries, Rwanda
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: has always been an advocate of peace and there's a
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: process that is going through. So we believe both parties
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: and all parties involved will play their role in following
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: different platforms that have been taken and will continue to
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: take place. Meanwhile, let us all enjoy sport for us,
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: for Africa, and allow the young generation to take and
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: tap into opportunities that everybody else is tapping into.
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: We deserve that as Africans.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: Nelly Mukazayire, thank you very much. He's Minister of Sports
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: at the Republic of Rwanda. 702 Drive, time for business.