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Why the next Youth Olympic Games will be historic
Dakar 2026: a first for Africa
The Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 will be the first of its kind.
The entire competition will be held in the West-African country of Senegal. While different editions of the Games have, since Athens 1896, taken place in Europe, the Americas, Oceania and Asia, they have never been hosted in Africa.
But all that will change next year.
The historic nature of the event means it will transcend borders. While Senegal will host the Games, the impact on the entire continent will always be remembered, with the motto of Dakar 2026 paying testament to this: Africa welcomes, Dakar celebrates.
“First, it’s a big responsibility and we’re aware of that,” Ibrahima Wade, General Coordinator of Dakar 2026, told Olympics.com in November 2023. “But it’s also a beautiful passion to say that Africa will host its first [Olympic] event on Senegalese land.
“We are reassured to see the entire continent mobilised behind Senegal.”