Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkins Jr.’s African tour, which ran from late December through January 27, became far more than a string of IRL streams — it was a full-blown cultural expansion into one of the world’s most fascinating regions. In just one month, Darren traveled across 20 countries, turning every single livestream into a global event. Streams Charts analyzed IShowSpeed’s travel marathon to identify which broadcasts from his African journey drew the highest live viewership.
IShowSpeed’s African tour delivered an incredible range of experiences for both the streamer and his audience. He attended the Africa Cup of Nations final in Morocco, swam with sharks off the coast of South Africa, crossed the Sahara Desert, visited the Egyptian pyramids, and went on safaris in Botswana and Kenya — and that’s just a fraction of everything he managed to pack into the trip.
In Nigeria, IShowSpeed celebrated his 21st birthday, and in front of millions of fans, his YouTube subscriber count soared past the staggering milestone of 51 million. That achievement pushed him into the top 20 most popular creators on the platform. And the records didn’t stop there — the massive hype surrounding the tour also helped the streamer set a new personal record for peak viewership on Twitch.
Altogether, IShowSpeed’s African tour streams across YouTube and Twitch ran for 118 hours, generating 16M hours of total watch time. Unsurprisingly, YouTube was the primary destination for viewers — the platform led both in average viewership and peak concurrent audience. The most-watched broadcast of the tour on YouTube was IShowSpeed’s trip to the Africa Cup of Nations final between Senegal and Morocco. That stream peaked at 418.3K concurrent viewers, ranking as the 10th most popular broadcast of his entire career.
IShowSpeed’s Twitch streams also pulled in a massive audience, with the creator even setting a new viewership record for his channel on the platform. The same football stream from Morocco, broadcast during the Africa Cup of Nations final, peaked at 76K concurrent viewers on Twitch — just 3,000 more than his previous personal best.
Over the course of his African tour, IShowSpeed visited 20 countries, meeting fans in every destination and immersing himself in local landmarks, food, and traditions. Outside of the football match in Morocco, his streams from Ethiopia, Algeria, and Kenya drew the largest audiences.
Over the past few years, IShowSpeed has not only risen to become one of YouTube’s biggest streamers, but has also emerged as a leader in the travel streaming space. He has completed multiple tours, traveling across Europe twice, visiting Southeast Asia and Latin America, and running large-scale, standalone tours across cities in the United States and China.
While his African journey didn’t deliver record-breaking viewership numbers, it became one of the most widely discussed tours among his fanbase. Thousands of enthusiastic comments poured in from viewers who said the trip reshaped their perception of African countries and local communities. Many admitted their previous understanding of life on the continent was outdated and deeply flawed. In that sense, IShowSpeed became a true cultural guide, helping reintroduce Africa to a Western audience.
Read also:
- IShowSpeed reaches over 500,000 Peak Viewers for 2nd European tour: top countries, total watch time, and more statistics;
- IShowSpeed’s America Tour attracted more new followers than Kai Cenat’s Mafiathon 3;
- IShowSpeed trip in South America: most popular countries and top moments;
- IShowSpeed’s Europe trip: best viewership in 2024 amid ankle injury, fan attacks, and Polish girls.
