A series of vibrant celebrations will begin on 31 October to mark exactly one year until the start of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the first Olympic sporting event ever to be hosted on African soil.
The milestone celebration will feature the unveiling of the official Dakar 2026 mascot and the launch of the OMEGA countdown clock in Dakar, signalling the beginning of the one-year countdown to the Games.
The festivities will open with a ceremony at the Grand Théâtre in Dakar, led by the President of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye. He will be joined by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry, Humphrey Kayange, Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for Dakar 2026, and Mamadou D. Ndiaye, President of the Senegalese National Olympic Committee and Dakar 2026 Organising Committee.
Later in the day, Worldwide Olympic Partner OMEGA—Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games since 1932—will reveal the Dakar 2026 countdown clock in the heart of the Senegalese capital.
The celebrations will extend into November with the fourth and final edition of Dakar en Jeux, a major cultural and sporting festival taking place from 4 to 9 November across the host cities of Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly. The event will bring together local communities, artists, and thousands of students in a showcase of sport, music and visual arts inspired by the Olympic spirit.
From 5 to 7 November, the Senegalese capital will also host the National Olympic Committees (NOC) Open Days, with up to 45 NOCs expected to participate. The programme will include venue visits, briefings on Games preparations and opportunities to strengthen international collaboration ahead of Dakar 2026.
Organised by the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee, the celebrations are designed to engage the public and build momentum for the historic event, which will take place from 31 October to 13 November 2026. The Games are expected to bring together 2,700 of the world’s most talented young athletes, aged up to 17, competing across Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.
The countdown now begins to an event that will not only make Olympic history but also showcase Africa’s growing role on the global sporting stage.