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The Dakar en Jeux festival is the first of its kind operating for such a long period of time – four years – prior to an Olympic event. To ensure both the success of the event and a long-lasting legacy it aims to mobilise citizens, create a sense of ownership in the Games, and empower the youth. The festival is a true celebration of the Olympic spirit and the values of sport, combined with a rich cultural programme which includes music and dance.

In 2022, the first edition of the Dakar en Jeux festival was launched, four years before the Youth Olympic Games of 2026. This first edition, more cultural than sporting and with a focus on the City of Dakar, was designed as a test, to gauge the motivation of citizens to mobilise and to get a sense of the road ahead until the Games. The 2022 edition was shown to be a success because in 2023, the festival was expanded, enriched, and diversified. Each year, the festival changes in dimension, reaches a new stage, explores new sports, showcases new talents, and strengthens the training platform dedicated to transmission of knowledge and skills to Dakar youth.

Deployed on the host sites of future Games (Dakar, Saly, and Diamniadio), the 2023 festival welcomed tens of thousands of spectators and more than 2,000 athletes who offered demonstrations, shows, and introductory experiences with a focus on athletics, breaking, field hockey, triathlon, Senegalese wrestling.

Year after year the festival pushes the boundaries, until it encompasses the world. The 2023 edition was an opportunity to present the 14 regions of Senegal, with their own cultural traditions and know-how. In 2024, the continent will be in the spotlight and artists and athletes from all over Africa will participate in the festival. In 2025, as a prelude to the 2026 Games, the entire world will be invited to be part of the celebration.

As Amadou Fall Ba, the Project Manager of the festival, explained, “The Dakar en Jeux festival, in its sporting aspect, does not only serve to showcase and highlight Senegalese, and soon African and world athletes. It is designed as a way to introduce young Senegalese to the practice of disciplines, but also to introduce sports about which the Senegalese public knows almost nothing.”

In the run up to the 2024 edition of the festival (8-10 November), the organisers have been able to ride the wave of the Paris Games to temporarily relocate the Dakar 2026 House in the heart of Île-Saint-Denis, near Paris, a stone’s throw from the Stade de France and the Olympic Village, at the “African Station” – an initiative powered by ANOCA and the City of Île-Saint-Denis – with the aim of promoting the upcoming YOGs in a specific place dedicated to the celebration of sport, African culture, and diversity.

Leading up to and around a sporting event, festivals contribute to the promotion of the event, the involvement of citizens, the mobilisation of fans, and the creation of a feeling of ownership. This ownership is not only of the event but also the city, its districts, and its facilities. A feeling of community and living together is fostered. Perhaps the Dakar en Jeux festival will continue beyond the Games as a living and productive legacy!

“The Dakar en Jeux festival, in its sporting aspect, does not only serve to showcase and highlight Senegalese, and soon African and world athletes. It is designed as a way to introduce young Senegalese to the practice of disciplines, but also to introduce sports about which the Senegalese public knows almost nothing.”

— Amadou Fall Ba, Project Manager – Dakar en Jeux festival