Senegal opens Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, Africa’s first Olympic event

Senegal on Saturday opened the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, marking the first time an Olympic sporting event has been hosted on African soil.

The historic Games will bring together approximately 2,700 athletes aged between 14 and 17 from around the world for 15 days of competition across Dakar, Diamniadio and the coastal resort town of Saly.

The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games are scheduled to run from October 31 to November 13 and will feature 153 medal events across 25 competition sports.

The International Olympic Committee said the event represents a major milestone for Africa, which has never hosted the Summer Olympic Games.

The opening ceremony was scheduled to take place at the stadium in Diamniadio, with Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye expected to declare the Games open.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry described the event as a significant moment for Senegal and the African continent. Coventry, a former Olympic swimming champion from Zimbabwe, became the first African to lead the IOC in 2025.

The Games were originally scheduled for 2022 but were postponed by four years following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the sports on the programme are athletics, swimming, football, basketball and several newer additions to the Youth Olympic Games. Baseball5, Wushu and coastal rowing beach sprint are among the sports making their Youth Olympic debut.

Beach wrestling will also feature, reflecting the importance of traditional wrestling in Senegalese sporting culture.

Dakar 2026 will also make history by including the first Refugee Olympic Team at a Youth Olympic Games. The six-athlete team includes young competitors based in Kenya and Uganda who will take part in athletics, judo and taekwondo.

The Games are being staged across eight venues, with organisers hoping the event will leave a lasting legacy through improved sporting infrastructure, trained personnel and greater opportunities for young people.

The IOC said Dakar 2026 is intended to extend beyond competition by promoting education, culture and the Olympic values among young people in Senegal and across Africa.

Senegal’s hosting of the event comes as African countries seek a greater role in global sporting competitions. While Africa has produced generations of Olympic champions, the continent has never previously staged an Olympic sporting event.

The success of the Dakar Games could strengthen the case for more major international sporting events to be hosted in Africa, although experts have also stressed the importance of maintaining facilities and building on the infrastructure created for the competition.

With thousands of young athletes gathering in Senegal, Dakar 2026 has opened a new chapter in the Olympic movement and placed Africa at the centre of one of the world’s biggest youth sporting events.