BULAWAYO, ZIMBABWE – Bulawayo, the second-biggest city in Zimbabwe, celebrated the country’s 46th Heroes’ Day on Monday with a car-drifting spectacle at the ZKS Spinners Arena. This year’s celebration saw local and foreign participants engage in high-speed drifting, doughnut stunts, and acrobatics amid roars of engines and tyre smoke.
It has been part of the city’s holiday celebrations, offering a platform where motorsport fans and even families can enjoy themselves legally through their activities. The spectators watched from behind the barricades as the drivers made pit stops to change tyres in preparation for the next race.
“We have music; people are happy because of the freedom we enjoy – that is the freedom provided by freedom fighters who shed their blood,” said Zakhele Mlilo, the event’s organiser. “We thank them for this.”
Benkosi Maphosa, who was the radio presenter for the show, stressed the wide appeal of the event: “This premier event has come to define Heroes’ Day. What a joy it is to see cars doing doughnuts in a controlled environment where families can spend their long weekend holiday together.”
National Heroes Day is celebrated on the second Monday of August to commemorate those who participated in the war of liberation that led to Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980.
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