Youth Olympics open in Senegal, a first for Africa
The fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games opened in Senegal with a ceremony at Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio. It is the first Olympic sporting event held on the African continent. Young athletes representing 204 national Olympic committees and the Youth Refugee Olympic Team will compete, with the Games continuing until 13 November. The programme features 25 competition sports.
Sports··Midday
Africa hosts its first Olympic sporting event
The fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games opened at Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio, Senegal.[1], [2]
The Games run until 13 November. This is the first Olympic sporting event on the African continent. The stadium is about 35 kilometres from the capital, Dakar. Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry attended the opening ceremony, which featured traditional Senegalese music and dance.[1]
Young athletes compete across three locations
A total of 2655 athletes aged between 14 and 17 represent 204 national Olympic committees and the Youth Refugee Olympic Team. The programme features 25 competition sports and 153 medal events across eight venues in Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly. A further ten sports have introductory activities. The six-member refugee team makes its debut, competing in athletics, judo and taekwondo.[1]
Senegal’s hosting follows a pandemic postponement
Senegal was chosen as host at the International Olympic Committee session in Buenos Aires in October 2018. The Games were originally scheduled for 2022, but a joint decision in July 2020 postponed them amid the pandemic’s disruption of the sporting calendar. These are the first Summer Youth Olympics since Buenos Aires 2018. The opening show used a symbolic family to represent different African generations.[1]
