Dakar

Local figures are publicly backing the Dakar 2026 Olympic Flame tour ahead of the Youth Olympic Games in Senegal. The Flame tour is part of preparations for the Games, which will make Dakar the first African city to host an Olympic event. Supporters are promoting the relay as a milestone for the continent and a way to build excitement in the host country.

Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has been appointed a Global Ambassador for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, saying he is ready to "give back to the next generation". The Kenyan great will help promote the Games, the first Olympic event to be staged on African soil, as organisers build excitement among young athletes worldwide ahead of the 2026 event in Senegal.

The Dakar 2026 Flame toured Keur Massar, a commune in the Dakar region of Senegal, as part of the build-up to the Youth Olympic Games. Organisers framed the relay stop as carrying a message of shared human values, using the flame's journey to connect local communities with the first Olympic event to be hosted on African soil.