Olympic flame arrives in Senegal ahead of first Olympic event in Africa The Olympic flame reached Dakar on Saturday for a ceremony led by basketball legend Mame Maty Mbengue, starting the countdown to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, the first Olympic sporting event held in Africa. The Olympic flame arrived in Senegal on Saturday, marking the countdown to the first Olympic sporting event ever held in Africa. Hundreds of people gathered at Dakar's Place du Souvenir Africain, a waterfront plaza overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, to welcome the flame ahead of the Youth Olympic Games next month. Senegalese basketball legend Mame Maty Mbengue lit a torch from the cauldron during the ceremony. The plaza is surrounded by portraits of prominent figures from Africa and its diaspora, and the event featured music and dancing as the crowd celebrated. A march by 100 women marked the occasion. The women carrying the flame are known as lingeer, a title for queens or royal women in Wolof, one of Senegal's main languages.Dressed in flowing orange and golden traditional dresses with yellow headwraps, they carried the flame to the plaza in a procession celebrating Senegalese women and the passing of values between generations. Kirsty Coventry, who is from Zimbabwe and heads the International Olympic Committee, said the event will be a proud moment for Senegal and the continent.Everyone that comes to Senegal in a few weeks is going to leave it knowing that Africa and Senegal are capable and unstoppable, and our young generation are going to change the world, Coventry told the gathered crowds. The flame left Athens on Thursday, where it was lit using the sun's rays and a parabolic mirror following Olympic tradition, before being handed to Senegal at the Panathenaic Stadium.The flame will begin a 3,600-kilometre (2,237-mile) tour of Senegal on Monday, travelling through all 14 regions with over 400 Senegalese torchbearers before returning to the capital for the official opening ceremony. The Youth Olympic Games will run from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13, bringing together about 2,700 young athletes to compete in 35 sports across Dakar and the nearby cities of Diamniadio and Saly.The Youth Olympics, first held in Singapore in 2010, are a smaller version of the Olympic Games for athletes aged 15 to 18. The ceremony in Dakar was held on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, with the cauldron lighting carried out by Mbengue, one of Senegal's best-known basketball figures. The arrival drew crowds to the seaside plaza, where the mix of music, dance and traditional dress reflected the cultural importance of the moment.Senegal is hosting the Youth Olympic Games under the Dakar 2026 banner. The event is the first Olympic sporting competition to be staged on the African continent, a milestone that organizers and IOC officials have highlighted as a sign of the continent's growing role in global sport. The flame's journey across Senegal is designed to bring the Games to communities in every region.More than 400 torchbearers will take part in the 3,600-kilometre relay, which begins on Monday and ends with the flame's return to Dakar for the opening ceremony. Coventry's remarks focused on the message the Games will send about Africa and its young people. She said visitors arriving for the event will leave with a new understanding of what Senegal and the continent can achieve, and she pointed to the younger generation as a force for change.The women known as lingeer played a central role in the Dakar ceremony, carrying the flame in a procession that honored Senegalese women and the transmission of values between generations. Their orange and golden dresses and yellow headwraps stood out as they moved toward the plaza. The Youth Olympics are smaller than the main Olympic Games and are open to athletes aged 15 to 18.About 2,700 young athletes will compete in 35 sports during the Dakar 2026 edition, with events spread across Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly. The Games will open on Oct. 31 and close on Nov. 13. The first Youth Olympics were held in Singapore in 2010, and the Dakar edition will be the first to take place in Africa. Before reaching Senegal, the flame was lit in Athens using the sun's rays and a parabolic mirror, in keeping with Olympic tradition.It was then handed to Senegal at the Panathenaic Stadium on Thursday, setting up Saturday's welcoming ceremony in Dakar. The lighting of the torch from the cauldron by Mame Maty Mbengue was the central moment of the Dakar event. Mbengue, a basketball legend in Senegal, took part as the country began the final countdown to the Games. The crowd at Place du Souvenir Africain celebrated with music and dancing.The plaza, which looks out over the Atlantic Ocean, is surrounded by portraits of prominent African and diaspora figures, adding symbolic weight to the arrival of the flame. Organizers have framed the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games as a landmark for African sport. The event will bring thousands of young athletes and visitors to Senegal, with competition venues in the capital and nearby cities. The flame's tour will cover all 14 of Senegal's regions before the opening ceremony.The relay is intended to involve communities across the country and build momentum ahead of the Games. Coventry, the IOC president, addressed the crowds in Dakar and praised Senegal's role as host. Her comments emphasized the capability of Africa and Senegal and the potential of the younger generation to change the world. The ceremony combined sport and culture, with the lingeer procession and traditional attire highlighting Senegalese identity.The event marked the formal start of the final stretch before the Games begin on Oct. 31. With the flame now in Senegal, attention turns to the national tour that begins Monday. The relay will end in Dakar, where the opening ceremony will launch more than two weeks of competition in 35 sports.