A brand new Olympic stadium suddenly made political history in Côte d’Ivoire. It is located in Ebimpé, north of Abidjan. With a capacity of 60,000 seats, it shines with its modern architecture in the shape of a bird’s nest. The Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, had it renamed in his name and organized there, on March 17, a ceremony in tribute to his ” son “, Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko, who died of cancer on March 10 in Germany. Political figures marched on the lawn, then African music stars sang the praises of the late head of government until the early hours.
For the “African Gentlemen” of Beijing, this celebration is considered a diplomatic success. The “Alassane-Ouattara stadium” is a donation from China to Côte d’Ivoire, which will host, in 2023, the final phase of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) football.
If Beijing is also supporting the construction of the stadiums of Korhogo (north) and San Pedro (southwest), for an amount of nearly 200 million euros, that of Abidjan has a special place. In four years, more than 1,500 Chinese and Ivorian workers have built this “Gem of friendly cooperation” between the two countries, in the words of the Chinese Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, Wan Li. The cost of the works is around 130 million euros.
“One of the finest achievements of our country”
“This is one of the finest achievements of our country in the field of sports”, welcomed the Ivorian president, who, a month before his controversial re-election for a third term, thanked his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at the inauguration of the site in October 2020. By his side, Mr. Wan had specified that “This stadium is the largest and best equipped that China has financed and built in Africa”.
A stadium may look like a diplomatic gadget, but it is relatively inexpensive, simple to build, popular and highly symbolic.
As part of its “stadium diplomacy”, China has offered and renovated nearly a hundred over the past five decades on the African continent, with the objectives of consolidating bilateral relations, facilitating the achievement of major contracts, to have privileged access to extractive resources, but also to secure the voices and support of Africa’s “brothers” at the United Nations as well as in other international institutions. China has established itself as the main trading partner and creditor of the continent placed at the heart of the “new silk roads” project.
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