Dakar, Oct 31. (Xinhua/GNA) – From 2,655 young athletes competing in 153 medal events to more than one million schoolchildren reached through Olympic education programmes, the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games are bringing together sport, education and youth development on an unprecedented scale in Africa.
As the Games opened in Senegal on Saturday, a series of figures underlined the historic significance of the event, which marks the first time an Olympic sporting event has been held on African soil.
Around 2,655 athletes aged between 14 and 17 are expected to compete at Dakar 2026, representing 204 national and regional Olympic committees, alongside the Refugee Olympic Team.
The Games, running from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13, feature 25 competition sports and 153 medal events, as well as 10 engagement sports designed to encourage wider participation among young people.
Another milestone is the participation of a Refugee Olympic Team at the Youth Olympic Games for the first time. Six athletes based in Africa will compete in athletics, judo and taekwondo.
Dakar 2026 is also the first Youth Olympic Games to achieve full gender parity across athlete quotas, sports, disciplines and events.
Female and male athletes each account for 50 per cent of the allocated quota places. The competition programme includes 73 women’s events and 73 men’s events, alongside seven mixed events.
The achievement represents an important step in the Olympic Movement’s efforts to promote equal opportunities and greater representation in international sport.
Beyond the competition venues, youth engagement and education are central to Dakar 2026.
More than one million schoolchildren across 11,000 schools in Senegal have already been reached through the Brevet Olympique Civique et Sportif (BOCS), the Games’ main Olympic values education programme, exceeding its original target of 900,000.
Meanwhile, around 300,000 young people across the country have been given opportunities to participate in activities linked to the Games through the Jeunesse en Jeux programme, meaning “Youth at the Games.”
A total of 42 Athlete Role Models, including Olympic champions and medalists, are also engaging directly with young athletes through mentoring sessions, educational workshops and activities at competition venues and the Youth Olympic Village.
The scale of local participation is also reflected in the volunteer programme. The Jambaar26 initiative received approximately 23,000 registrations for 6,000 positions during the Games.
In addition, more than 300 young professionals, including participants from 21 African National Olympic Committees (NOCs), have received training through the Dakar 2026 Learning Academy, helping strengthen the continent’s capacity to organise major sporting events.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has allocated 19.5 million U.S. dollars to Olympic Solidarity’s Youth Development programmes for the 2025-2028 period.
Since 2025, 149 youth development initiatives across 53 African NOCs and 21 sports have received support, reaching more than 3,300 young athletes and 550 coaches.
Dakar 2026 is also seeking to make the Games accessible to as many people as possible.
More than 960,000 tickets have been made available for competitions, ceremonies and Fan Zones, including 300,000 solidarity tickets reserved for children and young people, students, associations and sports clubs.
The Olympic flame has travelled through all 14 regions of Senegal, with 30 stops bringing together sport, culture and local communities under the theme “Pass the Energy.”
The Games are being staged across three host areas, Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly, with eight competition venues and one festival site. The Youth Olympic Village, located on the campus of Amadou Mahtar Mbow University in Diamniadio, is set to return to student use after the event.
The international reach of the Games is reflected in an estimated 507 hours of broadcast coverage, with 19 media rights holders and more than 70 sublicensees distributing the event worldwide.
Compared with the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, Dakar 2026 is expected to provide 25 percent more live coverage of sports featured at both editions.
Under the motto “Africa Welcomes, Dakar Celebrates,” the Games represent more than a sporting competition.
As young athletes from around the world gather in Senegal, the significance of Dakar 2026 will ultimately be measured not only by medals and records, but also by the opportunities it creates for a new generation and the lasting impact it leaves on African sport.
GNA