Ten teams, twenty drivers, zero emissions—and a title race so close it could be decided in seconds. This weekend, Luanda Bay will be more than just a scenic backdrop; it will become the stage for the E1 World Championship, for the first time in the history of Southern Africa.

A boat rising out of the water, suspended on thin metal blades, cutting through the sea at nearly ninety kilometers per hour—without an internal combustion engine, without the smell of fuel, and almost silently. That is the image Luanda Bay will present to the world this Sunday, the 13th, when the main race of the Angolan leg of the UIM E1 World Championship kicks off—the world’s first championship contested entirely with electric boats. After stops in Jeddah, Lake Como, Dubrovnik, and Monaco, the competition crosses the Atlantic and lands, for the first time, in Southern Africa.

At a press conference, government officials made it clear that they see the E1 as a rare opportunity to place Luanda alongside Monaco and Miami in the international imagination, without spending a fraction of what an equivalent advertising campaign would cost. The Secretary of State for Tourism, Augusto Kalikemala, summed up the logic behind the investment well: when the teams are owned by figures like Will Smith, LeBron James, Rafael Nadal, Didier Drogba, or Tom Brady, the exposure comes naturally—and reaches more than 100 countries. It’s publicity that no tourism ministry could afford to pay for and that, in this case, is included in the ticket price.

There is also a second layer—less discussed but equally deliberate—which is “to showcase Angola’s commitment to the energy transition and coastal protection, through a sport that was created precisely to prove that high speed and zero emissions can go hand in hand.”

With just two races left in the season—both in Miami in November—the title is still up for grabs. In the lead is Team Brady, led by the former American quarterback, with 119 points. But the chase is just nine points behind—and comes, precisely, from the home team. Will Smith’s Westbrook Racing by Visit Angola adopted its Angolan identity midway through the season and arrives in Luanda to race, literally, at home, with the airline TAAG making its debut this week as an official partner.

WILL SMITH’s WESTBROOK RACING BY VISIT ANGOLA WILL AIM FOR ANGOLA’s FIRST-EVER TITLE

For Brady, this is the third time it has tried to stay on top after having already won the two titles contested to date—in 2024 and 2025, the latter decided by such a narrow margin that there were even doubts as to whether the team would even qualify for the final. No one, so far, has managed to take the crown from them. But in Monaco, during the last round, the home team, Drogba Global Africa, showed that surprises are still possible and claimed its first-ever victory by jumping six spots in the standings in a single weekend.

The boat is called RaceBird; it was designed by Norwegian Sophi Horne and is exactly the same for all teams. It is seven meters long, made of carbon fiber, and powered by a 150-kilowatt electric motor capable of lifting the hull onto hydrofoils and reaching speeds of over eighty kilometers per hour. Since the equipment is the same for everyone, the difference comes entirely down to the drivers. Each team fields one male and one female driver, and there are no gender-separated races—in other words, everyone competes side by side, in the same heats, for the same points.

After Luanda, the schedule leads straight to the finale: two races on consecutive days in Miami, on November 13 and 14. That’s where it will finally be decided who takes home the title of Water Champions 2.