Pull all stops to make Safari Rally a success

For three days, the motorsport world will firmly fix their eyes on Kenya’s quest to return Safari Rally to the World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar. After close to five years of meticulous planning and shuttle diplomacy between Nairobi and Paris it comes down to three days. None other than President Uhuru Kenyatta has been at the forefront of ensuring Safari Rally Candidate Event takes off.

He committed the country by pumping in Sh500 million from taxpayers. That should count for something. The Safari Rally project team should be supported not only by the government but all Kenyans and security apparatus to ensure a safe and incident free championship. Fans must stay away from rally course for Kenya to earn the confidence of governing bodies WRC and FIA.

Indications are that everything is going according to plan except that reports of Safari Rally Media Committee unable to execute its mandate must worry the WRC Project team.

Rallying is about media glitz that presents to the world the good side of Kenya besides updating motor world of the battle of man and machine.

Through media the appetite of commercial interest is whetted. To be in the WRC Calendar is a multi-billion-shilling enterprise which guarantees financial windfall for host nations not only in sporting terms, but also tourism.

Kenya prides itself as a sporting powerhouse and must also rise to be a go-to sport tourist destination. For this reason, the WRC Project team must ensure the local and international media is facilitated to showcase Kenya’s hospitality.