Angola is hoping electric powerboat racing can help boost tourism, with the E1 World Championship making its first stop in southern Africa in Luanda at the weekend.
The event came a year after the series made its African debut in Lagos, Nigeria, and featured some of the biggest names in sport and entertainment.
Among the A-list team owners in the Angolan capital was 41-year-old LeBron James, newly signed for the Philadelphia 76ers, alongside Rafa Nadal, Tom Brady, Didier Drogba, Virat Kohli and Hollywood actor Will Smith.
Chief executive Jamie Copas said the celebrity pull is crucial for a niche sport where pilots race around tight courses at close to 100km/h.
He told BBC Sport Africa: “It’s not a short trip, but he is here because he believes in what we’re doing. You can’t underestimate the value of it. They come with huge followings.”[LeBron]
Like Formula E on land, E1 is built around sustainability and green technology.
James, who visited the National Museum of Slavery during his first trip to the country, said Angola had been super welcoming. He told local media there was a lot of history there that also crosses over to America.
His presence caused a stir. Angola’s men are reigning African basketball champions after claiming a 12th continental title at home last year, and fans at Clube Naval de Luanda crowded to see the basketball icon.
Novo Jornal journalist Omar Prata said he had not followed E1 until Smith announced in March that his Visit Angola-sponsored Westbrook Racing team had secured a three-year deal to race in Luanda.
“I see the potential to project the city when government is trying to grow tourism,” Prata said. “Angolans have seen LeBron on TV, they copy him on street courts, they have his posters.”
For local fan Edson Cabeta watching from the fanzone, it was a first. “Today it is foreigners doing this; tomorrow, perhaps we could have an Angolan team,” he said.
On a calendar that also features Miami, Monaco and Lake Como, Luanda stands out. But tourism minister Marcio de Jesus Lopes Daniel said building foreign awareness is the first step to making Angola more desirable to visit, invest in and do business in.
Angola has spent big before to raise its profile, hosting Lionel Messi’s Argentina for a friendly last November to celebrate 50 years of independence. Daniel said it was too early to measure the economic impact of the E1 weekend, but noted an event of this scale creates demand across sectors and opportunities that could turn into trips, stays, investment and jobs.
Conservation was also part of the programme, with mangrove restoration linked to the race.
The focus on sustainability has drawn scrutiny because E1 has raced in major oil producers including Saudi Arabia, the US, Nigeria and Angola.
“The world’s on a journey,” Copas said. “We’re welcomed in places that do have a lot of fossil-fuel infrastructure. Each market is conscious of it and wants to do more from a green point of view.”
He said air freight would only be used as a last resort and the series wants to prove electric charging can replace diesel on water.
Still, E1’s own sustainability report shows emissions rising from 1,672 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in season one to 4,049 tonnes in 2025 as it expanded to 10 teams and seven races.
“We need to travel to meet new people, to tell our stories, which we would hope would be of greater benefit than the carbon footprint,” Copas said, adding they work hard to offset and make logistics as sustainable as possible.
E1 acknowledges more cuts are needed. Its planned return to Lagos in October was cancelled earlier this month, a sign it is still establishing itself.
In Luanda, Team Brady won the inaugural title after Westbrook Racing retired with a mechanical fault. Smith had earlier greeted fans with selfies, saying it was great to be here.
As Copas put it: “It’s for us to help tell Angola stories, and for Angola to help tell ours. We will be back next year, we will be back the year after. It’s not just about what we’re doing in the few days we’re here.”
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