The announcement of the president of Colombia, Ivan Duque, that there is a proposal for Barranquilla to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix in the future, was a bombshell for the sport in the country.
“Dreams, as a team, we are capable of making them come true. Mayor Pumarejo says that there is an option to present a project to have a Formula 1 circuit. That seems far away, but the mayor has already been in talks with the Formula 1 team,” said President Duque.
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These words were joined by those of the city’s mayor, Jaime Pumarejo, who assured that the possible arrival of Formula 1 in Colombia and in the city is a great opportunity to generate employment and development.
You have to invest a fortune
“There are 22 cities in the world that can say they have a Formula 1 circuit. 320,000 spectators attend these circuits in three days; they spend an average of 600 dollars a day and travel from more than 100 countries. 60 thousand international tourists enter in an (average) period of 10 days. That is almost doubling the number of international visitors that come to the Atlantic in three days and in a single event,” he said.
However, it is not that easy. For the country to host such an important event is a dream that is difficult to make come true, first, because of the high cost that it entails.
If Barranquilla has serious aspirations to host a grand prix, then it will have to sign a 10-year contract at 40 million dollars for each race, a fortune for a country like Colombia.
It is not the first time that an idea of these is known. Colombia gave up holding the World Cup scheduled for 1986. Similarly, in 2021 the country gave up organizing the men’s Copa América, in the midst of the covid-19 crisis that coincided with the social demonstrations. The Cup was finally made in Brazil.
In 2006, during Álvaro Uribe’s presidency, the government nominated the country to host the 2014 World Cup, which was finally held in Brazil. And so many more events.
Having an F1 race is very complicated, since most of the money goes to the big top, such as billboards, the sale of television, in short, it is for the coffers of the category.
It is well known that Barranquilla would benefit from the arrival of fans from all over the world, but that is not enough, since investment is very high in a region where there are much more investment needs.
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