January 13, 2026 will be remembered as the night Ethiopia took ownership of the iShowSpeed phenomenon — and briefly became the center of global online attention.

In less than a day, the American streamer’s whirlwind stop in Addis Ababa delivered the most-watched episode of his Speed Does Africa tour so far, pulling in record-breaking traffic and rewriting perceptions of Ethiopia in real time.

But behind the viral clips and packed streets was two months of intense planning led quietly by a small hospitality and tourism team determined to showcase the country on its own terms.

A New High Mark for African Streaming

If Kenya set the bar, Ethiopia pushed it further.

Within the first 18 hours:

the Addis Ababa stream passed 9.9 million views,

hit a peak of approximately 257,000 live viewers,

and helped propel Speed’s subscriber count by more than 410,000 — the largest single-day spike of the tour.

The show of force triggered widespread celebration among Ethiopian fans, who had been watching Kenya’s January 11 stream cross 200,000 live viewers and vowed online to beat the number.

For two days, the rivalry between Nairobi and Addis Ababa dominated TikTok and X.

Metrics Side-by-Side

Kenya:

~200,000 live viewers

~360,000 subscribers gained

Ethiopia:

~257,000 live viewers

~410,000 subscribers gained

Fastest video to approach 10 million views

Speed and his team now move to West Africa with a target they didn’t expect to chase: 300,000 or even half a million concurrent viewers.

How Ethiopia Got on the Map

The Ethiopia stop was not a guarantee.

“It wasn’t even on the original schedule,” says Yonaiel Tadiwos Belete, Operations Director at Boston Partners PLC, who coordinated the trip.

The turning point came through Chaka Bars, the UK-based Pan-African creator who has been helping guide the continental tour. According to Yonaiel, Chaka personally pushed for Ethiopia and convinced Speed’s team it belonged on the route.

“Once that was confirmed, everything moved fast,” he says. “We had weeks to figure out how to represent Ethiopia in only 24 hours of ground time.”

Two Months of Quiet Work Behind One Viral Stream

From the public’s view, the visit appeared spontaneous — Speed running through Mercato, crowds swarming at Meskel Square, raw meat tastings and eskista dances.

In reality, Yonaiel and his partners spent more than two months assembling:

site visits,

security walkthroughs,

cultural coordination,

and dozens of stakeholder agreements.

“We couldn’t broadcast what we were doing,” he explains. “There were over 20 group chats just to keep track of moving pieces.”

Government offices such as the Ministry of Tourism, the Addis Ababa Tourism Commission, and even the Office of the Prime Minister were directly involved, alongside creatives, business owners, security teams, and volunteers.

One consistent challenge was what to prioritize.

“We wanted a balanced picture — culture, everyday life, history, art, food — but we only had a handful of hours,” he says.

Exceeding Expectations — On Camera and Off

Speed’s team came to Ethiopia expecting engagement online.
What took them by surprise was the scale of the reaction on the ground.

“They knew Ethiopia fans were active in the comments,” says Yonaiel. “But I don’t think they anticipated the reception.”

Market vendors shouted directions, children followed motorcades, horses blocked traffic, and hundreds attempted to keep pace on foot. The scenes at Mercato — bargaining, lifting produce, weaving through alleys — are already circulating widely across global fan communities.

“It was the kind of experience you cannot stage in a studio,” Yonaiel notes. “They wanted authenticity, and Ethiopia delivered it.”

A Controlled Chaos

With thousands appearing at every stop, the logistical stress rose behind the scenes.

“It felt like we were running the whole time — literally,” he recalls. “Trying to stay close enough for coordination while the crowd kept growing.”

The team often had to improvise: scaling walls, cutting through alleys, relocating vehicles, or re-routing for safety.

“But that energy,” he adds, “is what made the video what it is.”

Why It Matters Beyond the Numbers

For Ethiopia’s tourism and hospitality sector, the numbers are more than a one-day spike — they represent visibility most marketing budgets can’t buy.

Yonaiel has spent years advocating for more creator-led storytelling in the country.

“Visitors often only see Ethiopia through a very narrow lens,” he says. “This was a chance to show everyday culture — and people responded.”

Within hours of the stream ending, user-generated videos flooded TikTok, diaspora groups shared travel itineraries, and search traffic for Ethiopian destinations spiked across Google Trends.

Yonaiel believes more creators will follow — and Kuriftu, which recently hosted travel YouTuber Wode Maya, is preparing for it.

“I truly believe this will translate into visitors,” he says. “And when they come, it’s on all of us to host them well.”

A Line Drawn in the Sand

Speed continues— Cairo, Lagos, Accra and Dakar already hinting at their own crowd surges — but Ethiopia now holds the benchmark: the most-watched live moment of the Africa tour to date.

For Yonaiel, that matters less than what it signals.

“It shows what’s possible when we collaborate,” he says. “Government, private sector, creatives — everyone contributed in their own way.”

It’s not just a viral stream — it’s a snapshot of Ethiopia ready to be seen differently.

And if early reactions are any indication, the moment may be only the beginning.