Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics Kick Off in Africa

The Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games began with a spectacular ceremony at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium, 35 kilometers from the capital, Dakar. Traditional Senegalese music and dance performances stood out during the opening.

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye hosted the ceremony. International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry attended, along with heads of state from Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau. All 1,115 members of the performance team were African, and 98 percent of them were Senegalese.

The ceremony told the story of Africa's cultural heritage across three generations. The mother character represented the values inherited from the ancestors, the son represented today's Africa, and the young girl represented an Africa moving toward the future.

The Games will feature 153 competitions in 25 sports. In addition, activities will be organized in 10 disciplines aimed at increasing youth participation in sport. The competitions will take place at 8 venues in Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.

Turkey is taking part with 34 athletes, 14 women and 20 men. The event was originally planned for 2022, but it was postponed to 2026 due to disruptions to the schedule caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Dakar 2026 is the first Summer Youth Olympic Games to be held eight years after Buenos Aires 2018.