Rwanda is to take center stage from today as the first African country to host the cycling world championships, in its latest use of sports to improve the country’s reputation.
As it prepares for 5,000 cyclists and 20,000 spectators, Rwanda has spruced up its roads, created a network of cycle lanes and run multiple police drills.
A poor, landlocked country in east Africa still widely associated with a horrific genocide in 1994, Rwanda has used various sports to revamp its image, attract tourists and impress investors with its organizational efficiency.
Photo: AP
It has spent lavishly on soccer sponsorship deals with clubs like Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, signed a deal with the NBA to be a hub of its African basketball league, and is fighting to host an F1 race.
Some find this controversial. There were calls this year for cycling bosses to relocate the championships out of Rwanda over its involvement in a brutal insurgency in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, but many feel that Westerners are being hypocritical when they accuse countries like Rwanda of trying to “sports-wash” their reputations.
“When the [soccer] World Cup was hosted by Qatar there was a lot of criticism about sports-washing, but now the World Cup is being hosted by Miami no one is bringing up white supremacists or the assassination of right-wing political activists,” Kigali-based lawyer Louis Gitinywa said.
“Rwanda is not white as snow... we agree its human rights record is problematic, but who has the moral authority to accuse others and deny them opportunities?” he said.
The bigger question is whether nation-branding efforts actually work. Tourist numbers are largely unmoved by the “Visit Rwanda” shirts it has been putting on footballers since 2018: after a small bump the following year to 1.6 million, they have fallen slightly and stood at 1.36 million last year, according to the Rwanda Development Board.
Much of the world remains extremely ignorant about African countries, said Simon Anholt, whose eponymous firm measures how countries are perceived around the world.
“Sticking your name on a football shirt or stadium can help, but it’s tremendously expensive and people ... start forgetting it again” as soon as the campaign stops, he said.
A cycling event is better PR than most sports, he added, as it shows off the spectacular scenery, but his years of research show that people only form deep perceptions about a country when they see it playing a meaningful role in the world.
“Some enlightened foreign policy is probably going to last far longer, cost far less, and do everybody far more good than just blowing a lot of money on propaganda,” he said.
Rwandans themselves have more prosaic concerns.
“There is general anxiety that the race will cause major traffic jams,” Kigali resident Jeanne Manirunva said.
“I am not a fan of cycling, but the amount of preparation put into this competition has got me curious... I will stay to witness” it, she added.
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