The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has released the key figures for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), which will be held from 31 October to 13 November 2026 in Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly, marking the first Olympic event to be hosted in Africa.
The Dakar 2026 YOG will bring together 2,700 young athletes aged between 15 and 17, representing National Olympic Committees. For the first time, the event will also feature an Olympic Refugee Youth Team made up of athletes from across the African continent.
The sporting programme comprises 25 competition sports and 10 engagement sports, bringing the total to 35 disciplines. The competition sports are athletics, coastal rowing, badminton, baseball5, 3×3 basketball, beach handball, beach volleyball, boxing, breaking, road cycling, fencing, futsal, artistic gymnastics, judo, beach wrestling, swimming, rugby sevens, skateboarding, equestrian sports, taekwondo, table tennis, archery, triathlon, sailing and wushu.
The 10 engagement sports are canoeing, sport climbing, golf, weightlifting, hockey, karate, modern pentathlon, surfing, tennis and shooting. They are intended, among other things, to encourage young people to discover and take part in different sports.
Gender equality will also be a central feature of this edition. The IOC says Dakar 2026 aims for “full equality between women and men”, with balanced athlete quotas and events. Official IOC documents list 153 medal events.
The competitions will be spread across three clusters. In Dakar, venues will include the Iba Mar Diop Complex, the Tour de l’Oeuf Complex and the Corniche Ouest. In Diamniadio, the main venues will include the Equestrian Centre, Dakar Arena, Abdoulaye Wade Stadium and the Dakar Exhibition Centre. In Saly, beach competitions and several aquatic disciplines will be held at Saly Plage Ouest.
The Youth Olympic Village will be located at Amadou-Mahtar-Mbow University in Diamniadio, where athletes and officials will be accommodated. The IOC also expects around 6,000 volunteers to contribute to the organisation of the Games.
The opening ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, 31 October 2026, at Abdoulaye Wade Stadium, according to the official Dakar 2026 ticketing schedule. Some sporting activities will nevertheless begin on 30 October, including baseball5, while the first competitions on 31 October will include beach volleyball and coastal rowing.
Dakar 2026 therefore represents a landmark event for the Olympic movement. The IOC describes it as the “first Olympic sporting event in Africa”, with the Games also serving as a platform for cultural exchange and the promotion of sport among African youth.
According to the IOC, the Dakar 2026 YOG will run from 31 October to 13 November, covering 14 days of competition, with 2,700 athletes, 25 competition sports, 10 engagement sports and 153 medal events.
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