Africa making Olympic debut with 2026 Dakar Youth Games

Dakar – The first Olympic sporting event to ever be held in Africa has been a long time in the making but the Dakar Youth Olympics are ready to deliver despite a four-year postponement, International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said on Thursday.

Senegal is the first African country to host an Olympic sporting event, with the Youth Games opening on Saturday with the participation of almost 2,700 athletes, aged 14 to 17, from 204 national Olympic committees.

The Games, which will run until Nov. 13, were initially set for 2022 but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s here,“ Coventry told a news conference in Dakar after inspecting the venues and the athletes’ village ahead of Saturday’s opening ceremony. “We are so happy. This has been a long time in the making. We have gotten all the big milestones under way.”

Coventry, a former Olympic swimming champion from Zimbabwe, is the first African to lead the organization, having been elected in 2025.

Dakar Games organizers said they had to deal with last-minute energy and rain issues but have given the green light for the start with more than 6,000 volunteers helping in the organization.

Security will also be considerable and will include Spanish and French police officers, with experience from the 2024 Paris Olympics, organizers said.

“The team can give all assurances that everyone is ready to go,“ Coventry said. “I specifically feel very proud. I was part of the IOC when we took the decision (to award the Games to Dakar). To finally be here it feels like a long time coming ... and to see the level of an Olympic event being displayed.”

Humphrey Kayange, the IOC’s coordination commission chair for the Games, said the impact of the Youth Games could be wider.

Africa has never hosted the Summer Olympics despite bids from several countries in the past. On Thursday Durban was named as South Africa’s candidate for either the 2036 or 2040 Olympics.

“Seeing it (Dakar) come together has been great,” Kayange said. “What it leaves behind is legacy, infrastructure, venues, personnel. We hope the ripple effect does not die. There is a lot of potential and opportunity for it to be a shining start.”