•Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games open in historic first for Africa.
DAKAR, Senegal — International Olympic Committee President, Kirsty Coventry, has celebrated the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, which opened in Senegal. In her opening speech, she described the moment as a landmark occasion for Africa and the entire Olympic Movement. Coventry added that she was proud to be a Zimbabwean, and an African.
Addressing the crowd at Stade Abdoulaye Wade in Diamniadio, she stated: “It makes me incredibly proud to be standing here tonight. A proud Zimbabwean. And proud to be an African woman. And so proud that our continent is welcoming the Olympic Movement for the very first time.”
Coventry is a former Olympic champion from Zimbabwe, who made history as the first woman and the first African to lead the IOC.
With Africa making its debut as an Olympic host through the Youth Games, the IOC president placed pride in her roots and young athletes’ self-belief at the heart of her address during the multi-sport event’s opening ceremony.
Eight years after Dakar was selected as host city at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Kirsty Coventry opened her speech on Saturday at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio by reflecting on how an occasion long anticipated within the Olympic Movement had finally become a reality. “For years, we have talked about this moment. The first Olympic sporting event on African soil. And now – here we are!” she declared. “This historic moment is for Senegal and for Africa. And for our entire Olympic Movement.”
Having emphasised the significance of that milestone, Coventry acknowledged the collective effort that had made it possible, thanking the Senegalese government, the organising committee and the people who had given the athletes such a warm welcome. She also recognised the contribution of the Olympic partners and media rights holders in sharing the spirit of the Games around the world, while paying particular tribute to the volunteers and young Senegalese people whose involvement she regarded as one of the defining features of this edition.
“What makes these Games even more special is that young people have been at the heart of everything.” The IOC president highlighted how the ideas, creativity and energy of that generation had helped shape the Games, stressing that the athletes were far from the only young people involved. “Not just young athletes, but the young people of Senegal who have helped bring these Games to life.” She summed up their contribution by declaring, “These really are Games for the youth, by the youth!”
Coventry then turned to Senegal’s warm welcome and the spirit of teranga, the Wolof word for hospitality. “You have opened your arms and hearts to the world. This is the spirit of teranga.” She expressed her hope that visitors would enjoy their stay and discover Senegal’s culture and creativity, which she saw as reflecting a side of Africa she was particularly proud to share with the world. “This is the Africa that I am so proud and so excited for the world to experience,”she continued.
What had until then been a tribute to the host nation took on a more personal dimension as Coventry spoke of her own roots and what it meant to her to witness such an occasion. “It makes me incredibly proud to be standing here tonight. A proud Zimbabwean. And proud to be an African woman. And so proud that our continent is welcoming the Olympic Movement for the very first time.” Her pride in the historic sporting milestone was thus closely bound up with her African identity.
