Mogadiscio circuit

On August 15, 1938, Francesco Saveno, Governor of Italian Somaliland, flagged the start of the first car race, watched by many thousands of people, in the Corso Vittorio Emanuele (now called Somalia Boulevard) in the capital of Italian Somaliland, where the main viewing stands were located.

Thousands of Somalis lined the streets of Mogadiscio to watch the first car race in their country.

The Circuito di Mogadiscio was repeated again in 1939, but the race of 1940 was cancelled because of the outbreak of the Second World War.

According to Gianluca Gabrielli, there were 7 stands (2 stands only for the autochthonous population), and the magazine/newspaper Corriere della Somalia reported that in 1938 more than 10,000 spectators enjoyed the two sets of races (cars and motorcycles)[3] Those race cars were also promoted by the Italian government to increase the prestige of the Italian Empire, both within the colonies themselves and throughout the wider world; the cars were to show the Kingdom of Italy as a technologically advanced country with a state-of-the-art mechanical industry.

The race was run on the coastal streets of Mogadiscio, near the port and on Lungomare Corni, and was more than one mile long.