Advertisement

Sports bars fill the entertainment space in Kigali

Friday January 10 2020
tv

With the momentum built around football, one of the businesses that have sprouted in Kigali is sports bars. FILE PHOTO | NATION

By MOSES K. GAHIGI

Rwanda is looking for ways to fill its entertainment space.

The hospitality ecosystem has begun to take shape, especially in the past two years with the signing of a sponsorship deal with Arsenal football club, a top side in the English Premier League.

A second shirt deal was recently signed with French league football club Paris Saint Germain.

With the momentum built around football, one of the businesses that have sprouted is sports bars.

The Sky Lounge sports bar is located around Kisementi in Kigali, and has quickly become the go to place for the corporate class, sports enthusiasts and meat lovers who come to while away their weekends and eat and drink with friends.

The interior walls of the bar are adorned with large photos of Arsenal players like Lucas Torreira, Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe. The bar has several large screens covering all corners so that you can watch from wherever you are seated.

Advertisement

Besides football, the bar is popular for its offerings from the grill—roast chicken, stuffed goat, brochettes and pork.

They also have à la carte dishes like burgers, salads, hot and cold sandwiches and fish.

The stuffed goat has become something of a tradition where people bond over the tender roasted meat, which is stuffed with pilau and other ingredients.
On weekends, an extension of the bar morphs into a nightclub.

Many locals lament the absence of entertainment options in Kigali, and delegates who come for conferences are looking for places to go and unwind after a long day in conference deliberations.

High-end sports bars like Sky Lounge and Riders located in Kigali Heights, and creating quality nightclubs and other entertainment options that a city like Kigali demands.

Advertisement