Senegal's Youth Olympics makes Olympics in Africa 'logical'

At the end of October 2026, the first ever Olympic event on African soil will take place as the Youth Olympics comes to Senegal .

Around 2,700 young athletes are expected to compete across a total of 153 events in 25 sports, with many qualifying through the African Youth Games last year.

"We were entrusted with hosting this event and that is why from Johannesburg to Nairobi, from Dakar to Djbouti, it is all of young Africa that is watching you and watching you with pride," Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said at the arrival of the flame.

The moment marks yet another step forward for global sport in Africa. In 2025, the first major road cycling event took place on the continent, and in September this year it was announced the first-ever World Athletics Championships would be held in Kenya in 2029. There are also on-going negotiations about Formula 1 returning. It appears that 16 years on since the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, global sport is finally returning to different parts of Africa.

"This is a victory for Africa. It opens the door for Africa to host major events," Malick Diouf, head of a marketing agency and founder of the Dakar Sport Summit, told DW.

"Africa is in the process of opening up to the world, hosting major events and everything. And all of Africa must celebrate this kind of victory."

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