Africa has hosted its first Olympic event, as the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games opened in Senegal on Saturday 31 October. The opening ceremony took place at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio, with competition running until 13 November across Dakar, Diamniadio and the coastal resort of Saly.

A long-delayed first

Around 2,700 athletes aged 14 to 17 are taking part — sources vary slightly, between 2,655 and about 2,700 — in 25 sports in the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games. Dakar was awarded the Games in 2018, initially for 2022, before the event was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Senegal is fielding 136 athletes of its own.

Firsts beyond the location

Dakar 2026 is also the first Youth Olympic Games to feature a Refugee Olympic Team, and the first to reach full gender equality across athlete quota places, sports, disciplines and events. International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry, the first African to lead the organisation, said on arriving in Dakar that the excitement was building for an event a long time in the making. Africa has never hosted the Summer Olympics, and organisers hope the Youth Games will show what the continent could stage next.