Dakar 2026: A promise for a new generation
The latest issue of the Olympic Review takes a closer look at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), a project that blends sport and culture and has legacy and long-term benefits at its core. With this event, the ambition is to create new opportunities for the young generation and cement Africa’s place on the international sporting stage.
With just months to go before what will be a historic milestone for the Olympic Movement, this edition of the Olympic Review shines a spotlight on the first Olympic sports event to be held on African soil. As well as providing an overview of the upcoming YOG, set to take place from 31 October to 13 November 2026 in Dakar, it explores the momentum building around the project, which is being driven by strong local engagement and a long-term vision.
In an exclusive interview, IOC President Kirsty Coventry explains why Dakar 2026 is much more than a sporting event; it will showcase Africa in a new light and be a formative experience for a whole generation of young athletes. Coventry’s insight, as an African Olympian who has worked closely with the Dakar 2026 Organising Committee over a number of years, is particularly enlightening, and her words reflect her own emotion and an acute awareness that the YOG will be a historic moment.
This issue also offers an in-depth look at the Dakar 2026 project model. With events taking place across the capital, Diamniadio and Saly, the aim is to leverage sport to create positive change for the new generation and support education and development initiatives, building on the programmes that have already engaged hundreds of thousands of young people.
One of the highlights is an article by Lauriane Nembrot on the Dakar 2026 Learning Academy. This new flagship training programme aims to equip young Senegalese and African professionals with the skills needed to organise national and international sports events. It has been designed to create tangible opportunities for participants, and has already become one of Dakar 2026’s major legacy initiatives.
This edition also focuses on the ways that Dakar 2026 will celebrate Senegal’s cultural identity. Célia Cuordifede explores how the YOG will serve as a cultural showcase for Senegal’s local heritage, creativity and know-how. From the “Yeesal” project street murals that have been popping up across Dakar to the YOG mascot, Ayo, and the Dakar en Jeux festival, the links between sport and art are at the heart of the event.
Another key theme is that of passing the torch from one generation to the next. In a series of interviews by journalists Conor Ketley and Salah-Eddine Gakou, the Dakar 2026 Athlete Role Models reflect on their journeys and the impact they hope to have on the young participants as part of this programme, a continuation of one of the YOG’s most celebrated traditions.
Elsewhere, the beauty and vitality of Dakar have been captured through the lens of two Senegalese photographers, Sidy Tally and Badara Preira, whose photos show a city shaped by its young people, its sporting energy and its unique, vibrant urban atmosphere.
Finally, this edition takes a closer look at the partnership between the IOC and the French Development Agency (AFD). Rémy Rioux, who stepped down as AFD CEO in May, explains how Dakar 2026 is feeding into wider conversations about how sport can serve as a catalyst for education, peace and long-term development.
Through these and other articles, the Olympic Review offers a preview of an event that is set to be a turning point for Dakar, Africa and a whole generation of athletes.