A legacy built behind the cameras at Dakar 2026
At Dakar 2026, Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) is collaborating with Senegal’s national broadcaster, Radio Télévision Sénégalaise (RTS), and providing opportunities for a new generation of talent to gain hands-on experience through the Youth Broadcast Experience. Together, these initiatives combine local expertise and international experience, helping develop skills and create a broadcast legacy that extends beyond the Games.
Delivering the host broadcast for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international effort, but it is also rooted in the expertise and people of the host country. OBS is working alongside experienced Senegalese broadcast professionals while giving students and recent graduates the opportunity to gain hands-on experience within the operation. These initiatives bring together people at different stages of their careers, creating opportunities to exchange knowledge, develop skills and contribute to the delivery of Africa's first Olympic sporting event.
For Yiannis Exarchos, OBS Chief Executive Officer, this is an important part of the YOG's legacy:
Through our collaboration with RTS and the Youth Broadcast Experience, we are creating opportunities for Senegalese broadcast professionals and young people from across the region to gain experience, exchange knowledge and develop new skills. We hope that the relationships built and experience gained in Dakar will continue to create opportunities well beyond the Games.
Working side by side with RTS
Alongside delivering its own coverage as Senegal's national broadcaster and local Media Rights-Holder, RTS is contributing directly to the host broadcast, with more than 30 professionals working alongside OBS teams at competition venues.
RTS colleagues are part of the teams producing multi-camera coverage of beach volleyball, beach handball, beach wrestling, futsal and the Closing Ceremony. Working together, the teams are involved in the practical demands of live Olympic broadcasting, sharing experience and combining their expertise.
For Pape Alé Niang, RTS General Director, Dakar 2026 has demonstrated the strength of the national broadcaster's own teams:
When I took up my position at RTS, I was convinced that we already had the expertise and skills within our own teams to deliver major events. Dakar 2026 has proved that. I have visited the different competition venues and am completely satisfied with how our teams have performed. The OBS teams have also expressed how impressed they have been by the expertise demonstrated by RTS professionals.
The collaboration brings together RTS's broadcasting expertise and knowledge of the local environment with OBS's experience of Olympic host broadcasting. For the professionals involved, working together offers an opportunity to share approaches, learn from one another and contribute to a major international production.
For Trevor Pilling, OBS Senior Host Broadcast Producer, working with local Venue Production Teams is an important part of creating a legacy through the Games:
Legacy is always important for us when we cover an Olympic Games, and that's no different here in Senegal. One of the many ways that we're able to leave a legacy is through our interactions with local Venue Production Teams. It's been a real pleasure to work with this crew, who have been very committed to learning and doing a great job. Everyone has been committed to understanding the sport and how to cover it, and to delivering a first-class production.
For Oumar Ndiaye, RTS Live Production Director at Saly Beach West, the collaboration has been a valuable professional experience:
The collaboration between OBS and RTS at Dakar 2026 has been a very valuable professional experience. The exchange of experience between OBS and RTS has been particularly valuable for our RTS colleagues. What has stood out most to me is the rigour that goes into the work and the importance placed on respecting the Olympic Games brand identity. Hats off to all the teams involved, and congratulations to everyone working on the coverage.
The experience gained by RTS professionals during Dakar 2026 can provide a valuable foundation for their future work, while the relationships built through the collaboration may continue beyond the Games.
Giving a new generation hands-on experience
The broadcast legacy also reaches those taking their first steps into the industry. Through the Youth Broadcast Experience, 36 students and recent graduates from Senegal and neighbouring African countries are working alongside OBS teams during Dakar 2026. Coming from backgrounds including journalism, broadcasting, technology, sports management, logistics and event management, participants are gaining practical experience across different areas of the operation.
Rather than observing an international broadcast operation from the outside, they are becoming part of the teams delivering the Games. The experience gives them the chance to develop professional skills, learn from experienced colleagues and discover the range of opportunities available in sports broadcasting and event production.
For Luana Florentino, OBS Senior Manager Broadcast Training Programme & Training, the exchange goes both ways:
The Youth Broadcast Experience is a very special programme. I love how much we learn from each other. The 36 local students working alongside us at OBS have been invaluable here in Dakar. They've helped us find our way around, get to know the local culture and customs, and keep our day-to-day operations running smoothly. At the same time, they have a unique opportunity to learn first-hand from experienced broadcast professionals.
For participants, the opportunity is already helping turn their studies and interests into practical experience.
Journalism graduate Mariama Thiandoum has been developing her interviewing and fieldwork skills during the Games: “I studied journalism, and here, I'm able to get even more practice. It also helps me improve my fieldwork experience with athletes, learning how to approach them and how to ask questions. I think that could be useful for my career.”
For Enorah Megane Ndabian Celan, the experience has also brought personal development: “This experience helped improve my English, discover new cultures, and grow as a person.”
An experience beyond the Games
The collaboration with RTS and the Youth Broadcast Experience creates opportunities for established professionals and emerging talent to gain experience, develop skills and build relationships through the delivery of the Games.
For OBS, this is an important part of the broadcast legacy of Dakar 2026: helping ensure that the value of bringing the Games to Senegal is felt not only on screen, but also by the people working behind the cameras.
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