Viral videos and Addis Ababa’s new boulevardCEFR A2
11 Mar 2026
Adapted from Guest Contributor, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Moti Abebe, Unsplash
After Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Addis Ababa on February 17, a video of his motorcade on a new boulevard went viral. The clip showed wide streets, high-rises and bright lights and received more than five million views in one day. A similar online reaction followed a January visit by US influencer Darren Watkins Jr., known as IshowSpeed, whose livestream got 10 million views in one day.
The city’s corridor development project aims to improve infrastructure, housing and public spaces. In the past three years it added walkways, bike lanes, green spaces, bright streetlights and a riverside development. Critics say the project caused forced evictions, erased cultural heritage and lacked transparency, while the country faces conflict and growing humanitarian needs.
Difficult words
- viral — spread quickly online to many people
- infrastructure — basic systems for a city or country
- eviction — when people are forced to leave homesevictions
- heritage — important cultural things from the past
- transparency — open and clear information for the public
- humanitarian — related to help for people in need
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- What do you like or not like about new wide streets and bright lights?
- Why might people be worried when a development causes evictions?
- How could a city show more transparency about a big project?
