Dakar, Senegal — The wait is over. Africa’s first-ever Summer Youth Olympic Games officially open on Saturday in Dakar, marking a landmark moment for the Olympic movement on the continent.
Around 2,700 young athletes will compete for 153 sets of medals across 25 sports, with the Opening Ceremony set to take place at the Abdoulaye-Wade Stadium in Diamniadio, attended by Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
The Games, which run across multiple venues in and around the capital, represent a historic breakthrough for African sport, bringing the global youth Olympic stage to West Africa for the first time.
Competition will be spread across several key locations in Senegal:
Dakar: The Tour de l’Œuf sports complex will host swimming and skateboarding, while the Iba Mar Diop complex will feature taekwondo. Cyclists will race on the capital’s roads.
Dakar-Expo: The exhibition center will stage artistic gymnastics, judo, fencing, and wushu.
Diamniadio: The newly developed city will host equestrian sports at its dedicated center.
Saly: The coastal resort town is serving as one of the main competition hubs.
The Games are seen as a major milestone for the Olympic movement, showcasing Africa’s capacity to host world-class multi-sport events and inspiring a new generation of athletes across the continent.
Organizers and officials have hailed the event as a “historic moment” for Senegal and for African sport, with the eyes of the sporting world now fixed on Dakar as the Youth Olympics get underway.
The Opening Ceremony on Saturday will officially launch more than a week of competition, with young athletes from across the globe set to make their mark on African soil.
