Cape Town is set to become the first Southern African city to host the all-electric Formula E racing series, following an announcement made by the FIA global motorsport governing body in Geneva. This will also be the first time that South Africa has hosted a single-seater FIA World Championship racing event since the 1993 South African Formula One Grand Prix at Kyalami.
The Cape Town leg is set to take place on 26 February 2022. It forms part of a newly announced calendar for the 2021/2022 season, which will see also Vancouver, Canada and Seoul, South Korea joining the calendar, with the latter city hosting the season finale double-header.
The announcement follows a close cooperation between the promoter of the Western Cape bid, e-Movement (which was supported by Jaguar), and the City of Cape Town.
“We are delighted and honoured to be included on the calendar after two years of bidding to make this dream a reality,” said e-Movement chairman Iain Banner.
Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato said the event would unlock major investment, job creation and tourism potential through identifying Cape Town as the racing destination of the African continent.
“Cape Town is pleased to be chosen as one of the cities to participate in the Formula E tournament,” Plato said. “The City has the necessary infrastructure and skills to host an event of this size and we are confident that the event will further cement Cape Town’s global reputation as the World’s Leading Festival and Event Destination.”
