Dakar 2026 by numbers: key facts and figures behind historic Youth Olympic Games

Historic firsts

• For the first time, an Olympic sporting event is being held on African soil.
• A Refugee Olympic Team is taking part in the Youth Olympic Games for the first time, with six athletes based in Africa set to represent millions of displaced people across the continent.
• Dakar 2026 is the first Youth Olympic Games to achieve full gender equality across athlete quota places, sports, disciplines and events.

Athletes

• 2,655 young athletes, aged 14  to 17, are expected to take part in Dakar 2026, with approximately 2,700 athlete quota places allocated.

• 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are represented, alongside the Refugee Olympic Team

• USD 19.5 million has been allocated to Olympic Solidarity’s Youth Development programmes for 2025-2028, with investment expanded ahead of Dakar 2026 and a particular focus on African NOCs.

• Since 2025, 149 youth development initiatives across 53 African NOCs and 21 sports have been supported, reaching more than 3,300 young athletes and 550 coaches in Africa.

• 13 athletes competing at Dakar 2026 are among more than 1,580 athletes receiving Olympic Solidarity scholarships on the road to the LA28 Olympic Games.

Sports

• 25 competition sports feature on the programme, with 153 medal events.
• 10 engagement sports offer opportunities for participation, discovery and youth engagement beyond medal competition.

Gender equality

• 50 per cent female and 50 per cent male athlete quota places, ensuring equal representation.

• The competition programme features an equal number of men’s and women’s events: 73 each, together with seven mixed events.

• Gender parity is ensured across every sport, discipline and event at Dakar 2026​

Venues

• Three host areas – Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly – are staging the Games.
• Eight competition venues across the three locations and one festival site are bringing sport and celebrations to communities across Senegal.
• The Youth Olympic Village, located on the campus of Amadou Mahtar Mbow University in Diamniadio, will return to student use after the Games.

Volunteers

• The Jambaar26 volunteer programme received 23,000 registrations for 6,000 Games-time roles.
• Volunteers are supporting the delivery of Dakar 2026 across a range of areas, including logistics, transport, accreditation, ceremonies, media and spectator experience.

Education and youth engagement

• More than one million schoolchildren across 11,000 schools in Senegal have already been reached by the Brevet Olympique Civique et Sportif (BOCS), Dakar 2026's main Olympic values education programme, exceeding its initial target of 900,000.

• Around 300,000 young people across Senegal have been given the opportunity to take part in Dakar 2026 activities through the Jeunesse en Jeux programme, including through schools, local communities and dedicated festive zones.

• 42 Athlete Role Models, including Olympic champions, medallists and experienced Olympians, are engaging directly with young athletes through educational workshops, mentoring sessions and activities at competition venues and the Youth Olympic Village.

• 6 Believe in Sport Ambassadors are engaging with athletes and encouraging them to make informed and ethical decisions, while helping to safeguard sport from competition manipulation.

Legacy and impact

• More than 700 employees are contributing to the organisation and delivery of Dakar 2026.

• More than 300 young professionals, including participants from 21 African NOCs, have been trained through the Dakar 2026 Learning Academy, helping to build a pool of event professionals across the continent.

• 11 local sports facilities, alongside the Complexe Iba Mar Diop and Complexe Tour de l’Œuf, have being renovated and modernised to support sports participation and community use beyond the Games.

Bringing the Games to the people

• More than 960,000 tickets have been made available for competitions, ceremonies and Fan Zones, including 300,000 solidarity tickets set aside for children and young people, students, associations and sports clubs.
• All 14 regions of Senegal have been visited by the Youth Olympic flame, with 30 stops bringing together sport, youth, culture and communities under the tagline “Pass the Energy”, ahead of the Opening Ceremony on 31 October.

Media and Broadcast

• An estimated 507 hours of broadcast coverage will bring the action from Dakar 2026 to audiences around the world.
• 19 Media Rights-Holders and more than 70 sublicensees are contributing to the international distribution of the Games.
• Compared to the Buenos Aires 2018 YOG, Dakar 2026 is expected to deliver 25 per cent more live coverage of the sports featured at both YOG editions.