Senegal will open the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics on October’s final day, an edition that could be the last Summer Youth Games and the first in Africa. About 2,700 athletes aged 15 to 17 will compete in 153 events across 25 sports. Eight venues in Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) outside the capital, will host. Many view the event as a prelude to a full Olympics in Africa.
- Key Point: Some 2,700 teenage athletes will contest 153 events in 25 sports.
- Key Point: Men and women will be split evenly, with parity pursued in events and sports where possible.
- Key Point: Five-a-side baseball, kung fu and beach wrestling debut, as does a refugee team.
- Key Point: Human Rights Watch challenges Senegal on LGBTQ+ laws; Russian athletes return under their flag in some sports.
An African first with culture
Olivia Nloga, the organising committee’s chief brand promotion officer, told DW the 2,700 Dakar competitors would be split equally between men and women, with parity carried into events and sports where it exists.
Of the 2,700 athletes who will be competing in Dakar, there will be a 50-50 split between men and women. But this parity isn’t just reflected in the overall figure. This gender parity will also be reflected in each event and in each sport where such parity actually exists.
The list breaks new ground: five-a-side baseball, kung fu and beach wrestling, a Senegalese specialty, make their Youth Olympics debuts. A refugee squad competes for the first time. Aisha Diop, a 15-year-old Senegalese judoka, told DW the event gave young African athletes reason to persist.
I’m really excited about the Youth Olympic Games because, for the first time, I’ll be representing our country. I am very proud to be able to represent my country at these Games. This will really motivate young African athletes because they will improve, and they will want to continue playing sports now that the Youth Games have been held here.
Nloga said organisers sought a celebration for the people, not only sport and construction. Cultural projects include a fashion show and Yi-sol, a mural scheme on city walls; music is included, and the mascot came from a local student’s design.
As I said earlier, the Youth Olympic Games aren’t just about sports, and they aren’t just about infrastructure. For us, it was also important to use this time to build on and reinforce the idea that these Games in Senegal are a celebration for the people. We did this by investing in culture—for example, through a fashion show and a program called Yi-sol, which is a mural project on the city’s walls.
Schools, floods and cost
Organisers describe a programme called Olympic Civic and Sports Certificate as their main effort to create lasting benefit for Senegalese youth. Nloga said teams visited schools nationwide and worked with over 1,000 instructors to reach more than a million children, teaching Olympic values during a hiatus.
We did so through a program that is very important to us – one that is close to our hearts, namely, the Olympic Civic and Sports Certificate. We traveled to schools throughout Senegal and worked with more than 1,000 instructors to reach and make an impact on more than one million young Senegalese children who, during this hiatus, were exposed to and educated about the values of the Olympic Movement.
Recent flooding raised concerns about infrastructure, but Nloga said the risk had long been planned for. She cited a task force created after the prime minister convened an interdepartmental meeting.
The prime minister held an interdepartmental meeting during which he established a task force to ensure that the necessary arrangements and follow-up measures are put in place to safeguard both the competition venues and the accommodation sites.
Domestic debate is sharper. Many Senegalese facing living costs and unemployment see the Games as an unnecessary expense. The authorities call the spending a long-term investment in young people and infrastructure, and hope Dakar becomes a major tourist destination. Legacy questions have grown as global sport turns more often to Africa; Formula One confirmed in October that it would return.
Rights scrutiny and Russia’s return
Human Rights Watch criticised Senegal’s hosting and urged the government to change its LGBTQ+ stance. Larissa Kojoue of HRW told DW a universal welcome should not carry exceptions.
You are welcoming all of the world. It shouldn’t be ‘you are welcome to our country, except this, except that,’
Anti-LGBT legislation and that crackdown that is going on, they contradict the Olympic movement, the Olympic Charter, and also various human rights convention that the country has signed.
Earlier this year, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye enacted new legislation on same-sex relations. It had broad support in the majority-Muslim parliament but drew criticism abroad; rights groups warned it could discourage people at risk of HIV/AIDS from seeking help.
Russia returns to Olympic competition under its own colours after the IOC lifted its suspension in July. Each sport’s federation still decides whether Russians may enter. World Athletics keeps its ban; judo and swimming allow Russians with flag and anthem. The Russian Olympic Committee says 13 athletes and 10 coaches will be in Senegal.
What makes the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar special is that they are also rooted in Senegal’s extremely strong sporting culture. Every evening, when you take a stroll along the Corniche in Dakar, you’re struck by the number of people you see exer…
Organisers hope all involved benefit despite the disputes. A smooth Games would strengthen Africa’s case for a full Olympics; a troubled one would weaken it. For athletes, the test is 153 events in 25 sports.