Africa's first Olympic event: Dakar 2026 opens on 31 October

For the first time, an Olympic event is coming to Africa. The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games open in Senegal on 31 October 2026 and run until 13 November.

About 2,700 young athletes from more than 160 National Olympic Committees are expected to compete in 153 events across 25 sports.

Three host cities

The Games will be spread across three areas:

• Dakar, the capital, including the Iba Mar Diop complex and the Corniche West;
• Diamniadio, the new city east of Dakar, home to the 50,000-seat Diamniadio Olympic Stadium, which will host the opening ceremony, as well as Dakar Arena and the Dakar Expo Centre;
• Saly, on the coast, for beach sports including beach handball, beach volleyball, rowing, sailing and triathlon.

Built for young people

The programme is split equally between young men and women, with 73 events each plus seven open equestrian events. Breaking and skateboarding join the core sports, and Baseball5 and wushu have been added as optional sports.

Dakar 2026 will also be the first Youth Olympic Games with a Youth Refugee Olympic Team.

The mascot is Ayo, a young lion wearing a tingandé, the traditional Fula hat. Its name means "joy" in Yoruba. The motto is "Africa Welcomes, Dakar Celebrates".

A long road to the start line

Dakar was chosen unanimously at the IOC Session in Buenos Aires in 2018. The Games were originally planned for 2022 but were moved to 2026 after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics were postponed because of the pandemic.

The Youth Olympic flame was lit in Athens in September and has been touring Senegal's regions ahead of the opening ceremony.

Why it matters

Africa has never hosted the Olympic Games. Dakar 2026 is a chance for Senegal, and for the continent, to show it can stage a multi-sport Olympic event, and for a new generation of African athletes to compete in front of home crowds.