The 2026 Youth Olympic Games opened on Saturday in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, marking a historic milestone as the first Olympic event to be hosted on African soil.
Signs bearing the slogan “Africa Welcomes, Dakar Celebrates” are displayed across the city, which is welcoming nearly 2,700 young athletes aged between 14 and 17 from around the world.
The Games will feature the return of Russian athletes to Olympic competition under their national flag and colours, alongside the participation of a refugee team.
The young competitors will compete across 25 sports and 153 medal events during the competition.
“Today it’s not just a nation that is welcoming the Youth Olympic Games; it’s an entire continent that is opening its arms,” Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said at a sport and development summit on Saturday ahead of the opening ceremony.
Faye said the Games would go beyond celebrating sporting achievements to demonstrate the potential of sport to drive economic and social development.
The president noted that 130 years of Olympic history had passed before the Olympic flame finally reached African soil.
Africa takes centre stage
Competitions ranging from athletics and beach wrestling to rugby sevens and breaking will take place across eight venues in three locations.
Dakar, the nearby city of Diamniadio and the coastal town of Saly, about 80 kilometres from the capital, will host the events.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry, a former Zimbabwean swimmer, described the Games as an opportunity to demonstrate Africa’s capabilities to the world.
The continent’s potential was sometimes underestimated, she said during Saturday’s summit.
According to Coventry, the opening ceremony and other events will be broadcast live in more than 30 countries, with every African nation having committed to showing the Games.
The opening ceremony, scheduled for Saturday evening in Diamniadio, will officially usher in the competition.
Senegal will be represented by 136 athletes, while approximately 6,000 local volunteers are expected to support the organisation of the Games.
Senegal’s sporting culture
Senegal is renowned for its vibrant sporting culture, particularly football, traditional wrestling and surfing.
Football enthusiasts and young people frequently organise informal matches on beaches and village squares during evenings and weekends.
As temperatures cool, hundreds of residents also gather along Dakar’s iconic Corniche coastal road to run, exercise and participate in group fitness activities.
Despite the growing excitement surrounding the Games, however, the event has yet to generate widespread enthusiasm across the country.
Many Senegalese remain more concerned about the rising cost of living, unemployment and economic hardship.
“Once the Youth Olympic Games in Senegal begin, Dakar will become the capital of African youth,” Senegalese Prime Minister Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo told AFP in an interview earlier this week.
He described Africa’s hosting of the Youth Olympic Games as a powerful symbol for the continent.
Russian athletes return under national flag
The Dakar Games will also mark a significant development for Russian sport, following the International Olympic Committee’s decision to effectively lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee in July.
It will be the first Olympic competition since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 in which Russian athletes are permitted to compete under their national flag and colours.
According to the Russian Olympic Committee, 13 athletes will represent the country, accompanied by 10 coaches.
“The kids are excited; it’s good news that our legitimate right to participate with the national anthem and Russian flag has been restored,” Anzor Gaunov, who coaches Russian judoka Anastasia Dobrovolskaya, told AFP earlier this month in Moscow.
However, participation remains subject to approval by the respective international sports federations.
The Games will also feature a refugee Olympic team made up primarily of athletes based in Africa.
The IOC has described the Dakar Games as an important milestone for the continent and an opportunity to showcase Senegal’s cultural heritage and Africa’s growing influence in international sport.
Meanwhile, South Africa could become the first African country to host the Olympic Games after officially entering the race to stage the 2036 Summer Olympics.
The country previously made history by hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first edition of the men’s football tournament to be held on African soil.
AFP
