2026 Summer Youth Olympics
Multi-sport event in Dakar, Senegal
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The 2026 Summer Youth Olympics (French: Jeux Olympiques de la jeunesse d'été de 2026), officially known as the IV Summer Youth Olympic Games and commonly known as Dakar 2026 (Wolof: Ndakaaru 2026), will be the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympics, an international sports, education and cultural festival for teenagers, in a city designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Originally scheduled to be held for 18 days in Dakar, Senegal, from 22 October to 9 November 2022, it is now scheduled to be held there for 13 days—from 31 October to 13 November 2026, becoming the first IOC event to be held in Africa and the first Youth Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Kirsty Coventry.[1][2]
(French: L'Afrique Accueille, Dakar Célèbre)
(Wolof: Afrig Dalal, Ndakaaru Jëmël)
| |
| Location | Dakar, Senegal |
|---|---|
| Motto | Africa Welcomes, Dakar Celebrates (French: L'Afrique Accueille, Dakar Célèbre) (Wolof: Afrig Dalal, Ndakaaru Jëmël) |
| Athletes | ~2,700 (expected) |
| Events | 153 in 25 sports |
| Opening | 31 October 2026 |
| Closing | 13 November 2026 |
| Stadium | Diamniadio Olympic Stadium |
Summer Winter | |
On 9 December 2014 at the 127th IOC Session it was decided to move the organisation of the YOG to a non-Olympic year, starting with the fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games, to be postponed from 2022 to 2023.[3] Subsequently, the IOC reverted to a 2022 date, and announced in February 2018 that they would be recommending that the event be held in Africa.[4] The 132nd IOC Session confirmed the change of date back to 2022 on 7 February 2018.[5] The host was announced at the 133rd IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina during the 2018 edition.[6]
Bidding process
Originally scheduled for 2022, the International Olympic Committee decided at its 127th session in Monaco to postpone the organization of the future YOG to a non-Olympic year,[7] namely 2023. However, in June 2020 the IOC Executive Board ultimately decided to move the YOG back to 2026.[8]
The IOC voted to select the host city of the 2022 Summer Youth Olympics on 8 October 2018 at the 133rd IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[9][10]
Development and preparations
Organisation
However, on 15 July 2020, the IOC and Senegalese government agreed to postpone the games to 2026 due to the operational and economic consequences of the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics to July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][11]
During the 141st IOC Session, the committee provided an update, including a detailed schedule for the required upgrades, which are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2024.[12] Infrastructure preparations for the Games remain on track, with refurbishment work launched at key urban venues in Dakar and construction progressing at the equestrian centre and the Youth Olympic Village in Diamniadio. The completed venue master plan includes seven venues across the three host zones that will accommodate competition sites.[13]
Venues and infrastructure
Senegal proposes to organize the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics in three distinct areas, Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.[14][15][16]
Dakar
All engagement sports will be played in yet to be determined venues in the Corniche West.
| Venue | Events | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Complexe Iba Mar Diop | Athletics | 8,000 |
| Boxing | 7,000 | |
| Futsal (preliminaries) | ||
| Rugby sevens | ||
| Complexe Tour De L'Œuf | 3x3 basketball | 8,000 |
| Baseball5 | ||
| Breaking | ||
| Skateboarding | ||
| Swimming | ||
| Corniche West | Road cycling | N/A |
Diamniadio
| Venue | Events | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Equestrian Centre | Equestrian | 4,000 |
| Dakar Arena | Badminton | 15,000 |
| Futsal (finals) | ||
| Diamniadio Olympic Stadium | Ceremonies | 50,000 |
| Archery | TBA | |
| Dakar Expo Centre | Artistic gymnastics | 10,000 |
| Wushu | ||
| Fencing | ||
| Table tennis | ||
| Judo | ||
| Taekwondo |
Saly
| Venue | Events | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Saly Beach | Beach handball | 3,000 |
| Beach volleyball | ||
| Beach wrestling | ||
| Rowing | ||
| Sailing | ||
| Triathlon |
The Games
Sports
The 2026 Summer Youth Olympics will feature 153 events in 25 sports. Breaking, skateboarding will join the 21 core sports. There will be no mixed team events (NOCs) for the first time, 7 open event (equestrian), 73 men's events, and 73 women's events.[15][17][18] Baseball5 and wushu were subsequently added as optional sports.[19]
In June 2024, the IOC Executive Board approved a new sports program proposed by the IOC’s Olympic Programme Commission to better fit it into the local context. An amendment to the program kept 25 of the original 35 sports in the competition program and moved 10 sports to the engagement program. The change also limits each sport to one discipline only, reducing the overall number of athletes while ensuring gender parity.[20] The events and athlete quotas were confirmed on 3 December 2024.[21]
Participating National Olympic Committees
| Participating National Olympic Committees[22][23][24][25][26][27][28] |
|---|
|
Competition program
3x3 basketball (2) ()
Archery (3) ()
Artistic gymnastics (5) ()
Athletics (36) ()
Badminton (2) ()
Baseball5 (1) ()
Beach handball (2) ()
Beach volleyball (2) ()
Beach wrestling (8) ()
Boxing (10) ()
Breakdancing (2) ()
Coastal rowing (3) ()
Equestrian (1) ()
Fencing (6) ()
Futsal (2) ()
Judo (8) ()
Road cycling (4) ()
Rugby sevens (2) ()
Sailing (2) ()
Skateboarding (2) ()
Swimming (30) ()
Table tennis (3) ()
Taekwondo (11) ()
Triathlon (2) ()
Wushu (4) ()
Engagement program
Canoeing (8)
Golf (2)
Hockey5s (3)
Karate (6)
Modern pentathlon (3)
Shooting (6)
Sport climbing (2)
Surfing (2)
Tennis (5)
Weightlifting (12)
Calendar
The schedule was released on 2 February 2026.[31]
- All times and dates use Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
| OC | Opening ceremony | ● | Event competitions | 1 | Gold medal events | CC | Closing ceremony |
| October/November 2026 | October | November | Events | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30th Fri |
31st Sat |
1st Sun |
2nd Mon |
3rd Tue |
4th Wed |
5th Thu |
6th Fri |
7th Sat |
8th Sun |
9th Mon |
10th Tue |
11th Wed |
12th Thu |
13th Fri | |||
 Ceremonies
| OC | CC | N/a | ||||||||||||||
 3x3 basketball
| ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||
 Archery
| ● | ● | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
_pictogram.svg){kind=small} Artistic gymnastics
| ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 5 | |||||||||||
 Athletics
| ● | ● | ● | 28 | |||||||||||||
 Badminton
| ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
 Baseball5
| ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
 Beach handball
| ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
 Beach volleyball
| ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
 Beach wrestling
| ● | ● | 8 | ||||||||||||||
 Boxing
| ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 10 | 10 | ||||||||||
 Breakdancing
| ● | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
 Coastal rowing
| ● | ● | ● | ● | 5 | ||||||||||||
 Equestrian
| ● | ● | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||
 Fencing
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||||
 Futsal
| ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
 Judo
| ● | ● | ● | 8 | |||||||||||||
_pictogram.svg){kind=small} Road cycling
| ● | ● | 4 | ||||||||||||||
 Rugby sevens
| ● | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||
 Sailing
| ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
 Skateboarding
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
 Swimming
| ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 36 | ||||||||||
 Table tennis
| ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 3 | ||||||||||
 Taekwondo
| ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 11 | |||||||||||
 Triathlon
| ● | ● | 3 | ||||||||||||||
 Wushu
| ● | ● | 4 | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Daily medal events | 0 | 0 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 5 | 153 | |
| Cumulative total | 0 | 0 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 148 | 153 | ||
| October/November 2026 | October | November | Events | ||||||||||||||
| 30th Fri |
31st Sat |
1st Sun |
2nd Mon |
3rd Tue |
4th Wed |
5th Thu |
6th Fri |
7th Sat |
8th Sun |
9th Mon |
10th Tue |
11th Wed |
12th Thu |
13th Fri | |||
Marketing
The organising committee has announced ambassadors for the Games, who include Omar Sy and Khaby Lame.[32]
Mascot
| Ayo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mascot of the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics (Dakar) | |
| Creator | Ndeye Mariama Diop |
| Significance | A young lion wearing a tingandé, a traditional hat worn by the Fula people |
Ayo, the official mascot, was unveiled on 31 October 2025 at Grand Théâtre National de Dakar. His name means "joy" in Yoruba.[33]
