YOG Dakar 2026: the government accelerates preparations 80 days before the opening

Prime Minister Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo chaired, on Tuesday at the President Mamadou Dia Administrative Building, an interministerial council devoted to evaluating the preparations for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Dakar 2026. 80 days before the opening ceremony, the head of government set a series of deadlines to accelerate the finalization of the infrastructure and systems linked to the event.

The Council noted several advances, notably the reception of the Iba Mar Diop stadium and the Olympic swimming pool, the near-finalization of the Olympic Village and the Equestrian Center, as well as the validation of the final sports program. The security system has also been finalized and its deployment has started.

On the accommodation side, 74 agreements were signed with partner hotels, representing nearly 2,500 rooms reserved. The Civic and Sports Olympic Certificate program has also reached more than a million young people across the country.

Among the main deadlines, the Olympic Village must be completed by August 15 and made available to the OCOG before August 31. The work on the Equestrian Center must be finalized before August 20, while that on the Place of African Remembrance is expected before August 30.

The government also plans the commissioning of the TER Diamniadio-AIBD link no later than September 27, the finalization of the transport and traffic plan before August 31 and the availability of the bus fleet intended for accredited people before September 30.

The Prime Minister also requested the intensification of communication and popular mobilization, as well as the establishment of a sanitation program in Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly from August 17.

The Monitoring Committee must ensure weekly monitoring of all the measures adopted, with a system for daily reporting of constraints and rapid arbitration of difficulties. The objective is now clear: transform the latest projects into operational guarantees for a YOG that lives up to the ambition of Dakar 2026.