THE first Olympic sporting event to be held on African soil will take place in Dakar, Senegal, next year. It is the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Dakar 2026, which will run over two weeks from October 31, 2026, bringing together 2,700 of the best young athletes from around the world.
The YOG will be held in three host sites (Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly), and are envisioned to serve as a catalyst to transform Senegal through sport, while also aiming to inspire new hope, opportunities and confidence among young people across Africa and become a blueprint for future YOG hosts.
This approach is embodied in the Games’ motto, ‘Africa welcomes, Dakar celebrates’, which underscores the uniqueness of this YOG edition. Senegal is the first African country to host an Olympic sports event. The Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (YOGOC) emphasises that the YOG will be an event for the entire African continent.
In creating the motto, Dakar 2026 showed its desire to develop a brand that highlights its unique vision for the YOG, seeking to create an event that combines the Senegalese Teranga – the host nation’s generosity of spirit and hospitality – with sport, youth, hope and celebration.
According to SportsNow.com, thirty-five International Federations (IFs) will be involved in these Games, with 25 sports featuring on the competition programme and 10 to be part of the engagement programme. Dakar 2026 will showcase one discipline from each of the 25 sports on the competition programme.
These are athletics (track and field), aquatics (swimming), archery, badminton, baseball (Baseball5), basketball (3×3), boxing, breaking, cycling (road cycling), equestrian (jumping), fencing, football (futsal) and gymnastics (artistic).
Others are handball (beach handball), judo, rowing (coastal rowing), rugby (rugby sevens), sailing, skateboarding (street), table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, volleyball (beach volleyball), wrestling (beach wrestling) and wushu.
Additionally, Dakar 2026 will feature an engagement programme showcasing 10 sports: canoe-kayak, golf, hockey, karate, modern pentathlon, shooting, sport climbing, surfing, tennis and weightlifting.
These will not feature in the competition programme but will be promoted through interactive activities on site and via digital platforms, emphasising their role as integral components and an official part of the YOG.
In total, the Games will feature 151 events – split equally between men and women, with 72 events for each, alongside seven mixed-gender events. For the first time in the history of the Summer YOG, full gender equality will be achieved – not only in the overall athlete quota but also across every sport, discipline and event.
