Kenya targets bigger Safari Rally as government seeks five-year WRC extension

The government is planning a bigger and more commercially driven Safari Rally in 2027 as Kenya seeks to extend its hosting agreement with the World Rally Championship (WRC) for another five years.

Sports Principal Secretary Elijah Mwangi says Kenya has already submitted its bid to retain the WRC Safari Rally, with the government now looking to deepen private-sector involvement in financing and supporting the event.

Mwangi said increased private-sector participation had already played a key role in the successful staging of the 2026 Safari Rally, helping supplement government funding.

“Kenya has been hosting the WRC Safari Rally for the last seven years. In 2020, it was officially cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, but last year we had a very successful WRC, and in 2026 the private sector came on board and supplemented what the government was giving us, and we were able to host a very successful Safari Rally,” he said.

He said the government now wants to formalize that partnership through a special-purpose vehicle that will bring together sponsors and other private-sector stakeholders to support the rally.

“We have submitted our bid and I understand that Kenya has been considered for the next five years. This time round, we will have a special-purpose vehicle where the many sponsors from the private sector will come together in support of whatever the government is doing,” Mwangi said.

According to the PS, greater private-sector investment will help reduce the financial burden on the government while allowing businesses to tap into the commercial opportunities created by the Safari Rally.

“They will reduce the investment that the government has been undertaking in hosting the WRC Safari Rally because the private sector has seen the potential that we have within the rally and has come on board to supplement what the government has been doing,” he said.

Mwangi also assured Kenyans that preparations for the 2027 edition are already underway, with the Safari Rally scheduled to return to the WRC calendar in March.

“So let me tell Kenyans that the calendar has been drawn, and in March 2027 Kenya will be hosting the WRC Safari Rally as it has been,” he said.

The 2027 edition is expected to form part of Kenya’s efforts to strengthen its position as a long-term WRC host while building a broader commercial model around the iconic Safari Rally.