Event photography and video at Kigali Convention Centre: a planning guide

Kigali is one of Africa's busiest cities for international meetings. The Rwanda Convention Bureau reports that Kigali was ranked the second most popular city in Africa for international association meetings in the 2024 ICCA rankings, the fifth year in a row, and that more than 17,000 delegates attended international association meetings in Rwanda that year. The bureau names Kigali Convention Centre among the venues suited to large events.¹

The centre was officially launched in July 2016 at the KG2 Roundabout in Kimihurura. According to the bureau, the domed building can host anything from a small conference of 100 guests to a seated concert of 2,600.²

Good Kigali Convention Centre event photography and video start with understanding the building. Its size and flexibility are strengths, but they also mean that sessions, exhibitions and meetings may happen far apart at the same time. A crew that only plans for the main stage will miss much of the event.

This guide covers the venue-specific planning. For a general list of shots, see our event photography shot list.

The venue is a set of very different rooms. The International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) lists a total capacity of more than 5,000 across 20 venues, 2,606 theatre seats in the auditorium, 7,909 square metres of exhibition space and 292 adjacent hotel rooms.³

The centre's own description adds detail:⁴

• The auditorium spans 1,257 square metres over levels 1 and 2 and suits large conferences, concerts and meetings.
• Meeting halls 1 to 4 are on the ground level. Partition walls can turn the four spaces into one large hall, and the pre-function area covers almost 2,416 square metres.
• Smaller meeting rooms sit right below the auditorium, vary in size and suit small meetings and board meetings.

Each space needs a different approach. The auditorium needs long lenses and fixed camera positions. Breakout rooms need a mobile photographer. Exhibitions need wide shots and close-ups of people talking. Closed-door meetings may allow only a short photo opportunity at the start.

Plan for the distances too. The centre is about 5 kilometres from the city centre and from Kigali International Airport, and within a few kilometres of government and corporate offices.⁵ Allow travel time if the crew must also cover airport arrivals or an off-site visit on the same day.

Agree camera positions with the venue and the AV supplier during the site visit, not on the morning of the event.

• Main stage: a riser for the video camera at the back or centre, with a clear line to the lectern and panel.
• Photographers: a defined zone at the front or side, so they can move without blocking delegates' view.
• Sound: a feed from the mixing desk for video and livestream. Room microphones alone sound poor in large halls.
• Lighting: ask whether stage lighting will be bright and even enough for video, and whether the screens behind speakers will overexpose faces.
• Power: confirm sockets at each camera position.

If you are livestreaming, test the connection and the full chain the day before. Our livestreaming guide covers that in detail.

Ask the AV team for a copy of the slides and the running order, with any changes sent to the crew lead. Video editors need slide files to cut away from a speaker, and photographers need to know when a minister or keynote speaker will be on stage.

Two kinds of access matter: access for your own crew, and access for journalists.

Agree with the organiser and venue security which badges your photographers and camera operators need, and which areas each badge opens. High-level events may have restricted zones, pooled photo opportunities and security checks for equipment. Allow time for those checks each morning.

Foreign journalists coming to cover your event need media accreditation from the Rwanda Media Commission, applied for through IremboGov. As checked in October 2026, the fee is $30 for Rwandan correspondents of foreign media and EAC journalists, and $100 for other foreign journalists, with a stated processing time of three days. Applicants provide a passport number (or national ID number for Rwandan correspondents), a passport-size photo, a copy of a press or service card and an application letter from their media house.⁶ Tell visiting journalists early, so they apply before they travel.

Same-day photos and video depend on a quiet room near the action. Ask the venue for a small meeting room or a screened-off area, with desks, power and a wired or tested wireless connection. Bring a mobile data backup.

In our own practice, we place the edit room close to the main hall, so memory cards can be handed over quickly between sessions. Agree handover times and keep a log of key moments, so editors know where to look.

Agree a short list of priority images for each day, such as the opening, keynote speakers, signings and the group photo, and who approves them before they are shared. Same-day posts lose value quickly if approval takes too long.

Large events bring together delegates, officials, young people, performers and sometimes children. Rwanda's law on the protection of personal data and privacy (Law No 058/2021 of 13/10/2021) treats clear and unambiguous consent to the collection and processing of personal data as a core principle, and names the National Cyber Security Authority as the supervisory authority.⁷ Place a clear photography notice at registration and give people a simple way to opt out, such as a coloured lanyard.

Take extra care with children in cultural performances or youth sessions. Photograph them only in line with your safeguarding policy and with the agreement of a parent, guardian or responsible organisation. Do not publish their full names with identifiable photos.

VIP arrivals, signings and closed-door meetings often happen quickly and with strict protocol. Find out from the organiser where and when these moments will happen, who controls access and whether only a pool photographer will be allowed in.

Copy this list into your event plan.

• Site visit with the venue, AV supplier and crew lead.
• Map of rooms in use, with times, for every day of the event.
• Camera riser and photographer zone agreed for the auditorium.
• Audio feed from the mixing desk confirmed.
• Lighting and screen brightness checked for video.
• Power at each camera position.
• Edit room booked, with desks, power and a tested connection.
• Mobile data backup.
• Crew badges and access zones agreed with security.
• Equipment security check times each morning.
• Foreign journalists told about RMC accreditation through IremboGov.
• VIP arrival and signing times confirmed with protocol.
• Photography notice and opt-out at registration.
• Safeguarding plan for children and vulnerable people.
• Travel time planned for off-site moments.