Dakar Youth Olympics: Who gets to hold the flame?

Young Senegalese athletes are preparing for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, which open on Saturday in Dakar and mark the first Olympic event held in Africa. Nicolas Haque describes the city’s sporting culture, from volleyball and boxing practice to street football, beach wrestling and swimming toward Ngor Island. For many residents, visa barriers and travel costs make it difficult to go abroad, so this time the world is coming to them. Originally scheduled for 2022, the Games were postponed by four years after the COVID-19 pandemic and a request for more preparation time from then-President Macky Sall.