Dakar, Senegal — With 200 days left on the clock, Senegal’s Youth Olympic organisers were grilled for almost an hour on Zoom yesterday over how they will secure, move and house 2,700 athletes across three cities in October.
Ibrahima Wade, speaking for the Dakar 2026 Organising Committee, told reporters the project has left the drawing board. “We don’t plan on paper anymore. Now it’s about getting everything to work in real time,” he said as questions zeroed in on policing, crowd control and emergency-response times between Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.
Transport chiefs conceded “fine-tuning” is still under way on the 70 km shuttle network. Daily simulation runs have started, but Wade released no fallback routes should traffic or breakdowns jam the single carriageway linking the coastal venues.
The Youth Olympic Village — destined to become student dorms after the Games—is still being finished. Officials insist the blocks will be handed over before the 31 October opening, yet gave no exact completion date.
Visa and accreditation queues are another worry. Government desks are being told to “expedite movement”, Wade said after media reports that some delegations have yet to receive entry clearance.
IOC delegate Humphrey Kayange ended the call with a terse reminder: “Every detail matters.” The session, attended by reporters from at least eight African countries, ended without firm timelines for ticketing or public-security protocols.
Source: Panafricanvisions
