It is difficult to imagine an electric powerboat racing series capturing the attention of an Angolan audience for whom football and basketball is king, but the presence of NBA royalty LeBron James certainly helped.
The 41-year-old was among the A-listers in Luanda as the E1 World Championship rolled into southern Africa for the first time at the weekend, having made its debut on the continent last year in Lagos, Nigeria.
“It’s not a short trip, but he [LeBron] is here because he believes in what we’re doing,” E1 chief executive Jamie Copas told BBC Sport Africa in the Angolan capital.
“You can’t underestimate the value of it. They [the celebrity owners] come with huge followings.”
James, like fellow sport stars Rafa Nadal, Tom Brady, Didier Drogba and Virat Kohli and actor Will Smith, is an E1 team owner after buying into the series.
Similar to Formula E on land, it aims to blend sport with strong messaging around sustainability and green technology.
James said Angola had made his first trip to the country “super welcoming” after visiting the National Museum of Slavery.
“Obviously there is a lot of history here,” the new signing for the Philadelphia 76ers told local media.
“A lot of history that not only is here in the country but also [crosses] over to America.”
Angola’s men are reigning African basketball champions, securing a record-extending 12th continental title on home soil last year, and unsurprisingly spectators of the E1 racing at the Clube Naval de Luanda clamoured for a glimpse of one of basketball’s biggest icons.
Journalist Omar Prata, covering the race for the Jornal de Angola, admitted that E1 was not on his radar until Hollywood star Smith, whose Westbrook Racing team is sponsored by Visit Angola, announced in March that a deal had been agreed to race in Luanda for the next three years.
“I see the potential it could bring to project the city at a time when the government is trying to work on tourism,” Prata said.
“And of course it means a lot to have LeBron James here. Angolans have seen him on television, they try to emulate him on the street courts, they have his posters.”
