Olympic flame lit in Athens for Africa’s first Games

The flame for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games was lit on Thursday at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, marking a historic milestone as organizers prepare for the first Olympic event ever staged on the African continent.english.news+1

Using a concave mirror to channel the sun's rays — a tradition evoking Apollo, the ancient Greek god of the sun — the flame was kindled during an hourlong ceremony that blended ancient ritual with contemporary culture, featuring hip-hop dancers, cheerleaders, a youth choir, and a performance by Senegalese singer Kya Loum.english.news

"This Moment Means So Much to Me"

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry, the organization's first African and first female leader, spoke with visible emotion at the ceremony. "As an African, this moment means so much to me," said Coventry, an Olympic swimming champion from Zimbabwe. "For so many years we have spoken about the day when an Olympic event would finally come to our continent. And now we have that great honour."africanews

Three Senegalese athletes served as torchbearers during the ceremony: basketball captain Brancou Badio, swimmer Oumy Diop, and sprinter Louis-François Mendy, linking Greece and Senegal through the symbolic relay at the marble horseshoe-shaped stadium that hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896.allafrica+1

The Road to Dakar

The flame will arrive in Dakar on Saturday, with a torch relay running from September 14 through October 30 ahead of the Games' opening ceremony. The Youth Olympics, scheduled from October 31 to November 13, will bring together around 2,700 athletes aged 15 to 18 across 25 sports in Dakar and two other Senegalese cities.english.news+1

Dakar organizing committee head Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye struck a candid tone about the preparations. "We do not promise the perfect games. We promise real games, warm games," he said.africanews

A Ceremony for Youth

Isidoros Kouvelos, president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, dedicated the ceremony to the young athletes who will compete. "This ceremony belongs above all to you: to your dreams, your courage, to the early mornings, the long training sessions, the sacrifices, and the hope," Kouvelos said. "Sport will teach you many lessons. It will teach you patience and respect. And if you listen carefully, it will teach you something greater: that the true measure of an athlete is the character formed along the way."africanews