In a few days’ time, the flame for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will be lit in the historic Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece, during a symbolic lighting ceremony. The Youth Olympic flame will begin its journey to the 4th Summer Youth Olympic Games on 10 September 2026. The flame will be lit by the sun’s rays using a parabolic mirror, before being taken to Senegal and travelling to Dakar.The flame will arrive in Dakar on 12 September, where it will be welcomed during a ceremony celebrating Senegal, its youth, its culture and the Olympic values. This historic moment will launch the Dakar 2026 Flame Tour, which will travel across all 14 regions of Senegal and include 30 stops on the road to the YOG Opening Ceremony on 31 October.
Under the tagline “Pass the Energy”, the Flame Tour will invite communities across Senegal to share in the excitement of the first Olympic sporting event to be held on African soil. It will also help build momentum towards Dakar 2026, which will bring together the world’s best young athletes from 31 October to 13 November 2026.
The Flame Tour is designed as a collective journey, connecting sport, culture and youth participation. It will highlight Senegal’s spirit of teranga, the country’s tradition of hospitality and generosity, while promoting the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.
The arrival ceremony in Dakar will feature the “March of the Linguères”, a symbolic procession of 100 Senegalese women, culminating in the lighting of a cauldron at Place du Souvenir. The ceremony is planned as a popular celebration bringing together cultural performances, official moments and public engagement around the arrival of the Youth Olympic flame in Africa.
“As an Olympian, I know the feeling that the Olympic flame can create,” said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry. “It brings excitement. It brings people together. And it reminds us that sport has the power to inspire us to dream bigger.”
Following the welcome ceremony, the Flame Tour will continue in several phases: first in Dakar from 14 to 27 September, then across the regions from 29 September to 26 October, before returning to Dakar from 28 to 30 October ahead of the Opening Ceremony.In line with the Dakar 2026 motto, “Africa Welcomes, Dakar Celebrates”, and to mark the arrival of the flame in Dakar on 12 September, Olymafrica centres and over 40 African National Olympic Committees are expected to take part at a continental-wide educational and sports relay by combining running or walking activities with Olympic Values-based workshops – earning kilometers as they go to symbolically and collectively cover 30,500 km, equivalent to the approximate perimeter of Africa.
Inspired by the Flame Tour, the “We Run for Africa – Dakar 2026 Flame Tour Toolkit” has been developed as part of the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP). Designed for children aged 6 to 16, it provides adaptable and inclusive activities combining sport, education, art and culture, sustainability, and future-thinking workshops – all designed to build excitement ahead of Dakar 2026.
The official ticketing for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games is now open! Book your tickets.
Information for the media
The Flame Lighting Ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on 10 September will be livestreamed on Olympics.com and the Olympics YouTube channel. Highlights from the Flame Arrival Ceremony in Dakar on 12 September, along with additional content, will also be available on both platforms.
Broadcast-quality footage and photos will also be made available to the media through the IOC Newsroom.
The live broadcast feed of the Flame Lighting Ceremony will be available free of charge to media organisations. Advance signal booking is required through sports@overon.es, using booking reference OCSOVEDK261, no later than two hours before transmission. Distribution will be available via EUTELSAT 3B (C-BAND) and SRT. Please find the Live Broadcast Feed Technical Details here.
The end-to-end test is scheduled for 9 September from 12:30 to 13:00 UTC. The live event feed on 10 September will be available from 08:00 to 09:20 UTC, with the international programme beginning at 08:25 UTC and the ceremony expected to start at approximately 08:28 UTC. All timings are subject to change.
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For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000, email: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.ioc.org.
Broadcast quality footage and photos
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