The 2026 Summer Youth Olympics (), officially known as the IV Summer Youth Olympic Games and commonly known as Dakar 2026 (), will be the fourth edition of the

Summer Youth Olympics Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

, an international

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

, education and cultural festival for teenagers, in a city designated by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC). Originally scheduled to be held for 18 days in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

, 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 Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and the first Youth Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of

Kirsty Coventry Kirsty Leigh Coventry Seward (née Coventry; born 16 September 1983) is a Zimbabwean politician, sports administrator and former competitive swimmer. She will become the 10th president of the International Olympic Committee in June 2025, being ...

. On 9 December 2014 at the

127th IOC Session The 127th IOC Session took place in December 2014 in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Olympic Agenda 2020 All provisions in the Olympic Agenda 2020 reform package were approved by the full IOC membership. 130th IOC Session host election On December 9, 2 ...

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. 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. The

132nd IOC Session The 132nd IOC Session is an IOC Session that was held at the Kensington Flora Hotel in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February 2018. Opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the IOC Session was held at the Gangneung Cultural Centre. The opening cerem ...

confirmed the change of date back to 2022 on 7 February 2018. The host was announced at the 133rd IOC Session in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina during the 2018 edition.

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, namely 2023. However, at the 132nd session held alongside the Pyeongchang 2018 Games, the IOC Executive Board ultimately decided to move the YOG back to 2026. The IOC voted to select the host city of the 2022 Summer Youth Olympics on 8 October 2018 at the 133rd IOC Session in

, Argentina.

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 The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

to July 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 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. 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.

Venues and infrastructure

Senegal proposes to organize the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics in three distinct areas,

Diamniadio Diamniadio is a town and urban commune in Senegal. History Diamniadio is a part of the collective development program of the government of Senegal under the leadership of President Macky Sall to revitalize Senegal's economy. The development of ...

and

Saly Saly (also called Sali or Saly Portudal) is a seaside resort and urban commune in Thiès Region on the Petite Côte of Senegal, south of Dakar. It is a major tourist destination in Senegal. History Saly was originally a Portuguese trading post kn ...

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

All engagement sports will be played in yet to be determined venues in the Corniche West.

Diamniadio Diamniadio is a town and urban commune in Senegal. History Diamniadio is a part of the collective development program of the government of Senegal under the leadership of President Macky Sall to revitalize Senegal's economy. The development of ...

Saly Saly (also called Sali or Saly Portudal) is a seaside resort and urban commune in Thiès Region on the Petite Côte of Senegal, south of Dakar. It is a major tourist destination in Senegal. History Saly was originally a Portuguese trading post kn ...

The Games

Sports

The 2026 Summer Youth Olympics will feature 247 events in 36 sports. Breaking,

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

sport climbing Sport climbing (or bolted climbing) is a type of free climbing in the sport of rock climbing where the Lead climbing, lead climber clips their climbing rope, rope — via a quickdraw — into pre-drilled in-situ bolt (climbing), bolts for their ...

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

will join the 28 core sports. There will be no mixed team events (NOCs) for the first time, 1 open event (equestrian), 115 men's events, and 115 women's events.

Baseball5 Baseball5 (B5 or BB5) is a simplified variation of baseball and softball which is governed at the international level alongside those sports by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). The game revolves around two teams of five player ...

and

wushu Wushu may refer to: Martial arts * Chinese martial arts, the various martial arts of China * Wushu (sport) Wushu () (), or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern ...

were subsequently added as optional sports. 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. The events and athlete quotas were confirmed on 3 December 2024.

Competition programme

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Engagement programme

The number of events listed for sports in the engagement programme are not listed by the IOC, but are included here for reference purposes. * * * * * * * * * *

Media coverage

*North Korea –

JTBC JTBC (shortened from Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company; ; stylized in all lowercase) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on December 1, ...

*South Korea –

*Thailand – Plan B *Brazil –

Grupo Globo Grupo Globo (), formerly and still legally known as Organizações Globo (), is a Brazilian privately held company, private entertainment and mass media conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in 1925 by I ...

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Olympics, Senegal, Sports 2026 in youth sport 2026 in Senegalese sport Summer Youth Olympics 2026 Summer Youth Olympics by year International sports competitions hosted by Senegal 2026 in multi-sport events

Youth Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with ...