Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games: The flame returns to the capital ahead of the October 31 opening

The Youth Olympic Games flame returned to Dakar from October 28 to 30, 2026, marking the final leg of a relay that began on September 14, ahead of the opening ceremony scheduled for October 31 at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio. This will be the first Olympic event ever organized on the African continent.

Lit in Athens, the flame arrived in Senegal on September 12, 2026, reports EnquêtePlus. It remained in Dakar until September 27, then traveled through the country's fourteen regions from September 29 to October 24, covering thirty stages before returning to the capital.

A ceremony built over a year and a half

The opening ceremony will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the 55,000-seat stadium, under the theme "Africa welcomes, Dakar celebrates." According to Seneweb, approximately 1,100 people will participate in the show, including 625 dancers recruited through auditions held in the regions. A partnership with Special Olympics will allow people with disabilities to take the stage. The director of ceremonies, Khady Niang, indicated that the final torchbearer would be a Senegalese athlete, without revealing their identity.

The project required about a year and a half of preparation, including the training of local technical teams, also according to Seneweb. This point is not trivial: the Youth Olympic Games are leaving Senegal with skills and infrastructure, not just two weeks of competition.

2,700 athletes under 18

The Games will be held from October 31 to November 13, 2026, in Dakar, Diamniadio, and Saly. They will bring together some 2,700 athletes aged 17 and under from more than 200 delegations, according to Senego and Radio Sports, which cite 206 and 207 countries respectively. Twenty-five sports are on the competition program. Among the selected sites are the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium, Dakar Expo, the Iba Mar Diop complex, and Saly Plage Ouest.

Senegal was designated as host in 2018 during the International Olympic Committee session in Buenos Aires. The edition, initially scheduled for 2022, was postponed by four years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the flame's journey, IOC President Kirsty Coventry stated that these Games would "change many ideas about Africa." The president of the organizing committee, Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye, summarized the stakes differently: "It is a promise." On October 31, Africa will not go to the Games: the Games will come to Africa.