DAKAR, 29th October, 2026 (WAM) -- History is being made in Senegal: The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will open on Saturday and run to 13 November, bringing together the world’s best young athletes for the first Olympic sporting event ever held on African soil.
For the first time, an Olympic sporting event is being held on African soil, and 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, according to the International Olympic Committee.
Dakar 2026 is the first Youth Olympic Games to achieve full gender equality across athlete quota places, sports, disciplines and events.50% female and 50% male athlete quota places, ensuring equal representation.
2,655 young athletes, aged 14 to 17, are expected to take part in Dakar 2026, with approximately 2,700 athlete quota places allocated.
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.
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.
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% more live coverage of the sports featured at both YOG editions.