Dakar 2026 is poised to host the Youth Olympic Games (JOJ) with a groundbreaking commitment: to achieve a plastic-free event. This ambitious pledge, made by the Dakar 2026 organizing committee in collaboration with Senegal’s Ministry of Environment and Ecological Transition, is significantly bolstered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Several core principles will guide these Games, aiming to set a new standard for sustainability: minimizing single-use plastics, enhancing waste sorting and collection across all venues, raising environmental awareness among athletes, spectators, and local communities, and mobilizing institutions, the private sector, and civil society to establish a lasting environmental legacy.

The Dakar 2026 Organizing Committee (COJOJ) expressed strong enthusiasm for this initiative. They anticipate that “with this initiative, Dakar 2026 will become a reference for sustainable sporting events and contribute to Senegal’s transition towards a circular plastics economy.” Fatou Leigh, interim Resident Representative for UNDP Senegal, expanded on this vision, commenting, “We are not merely launching an environmental project. We are launching an ambition: to make the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games a clear demonstration that a major international event can accelerate the transition towards a more responsible and sustainable circular economy.”

Aliou Gory Diouf, the Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition, underscored the immense potential of the upcoming Games. “The Youth Olympic Games represent an exceptional opportunity for us,” he stated. “We aim to demonstrate Senegal’s capability to organize the first Olympic event in the history of the African continent, all while leaving an environmental legacy as significant as its sporting one. Our ambition extends beyond the duration of the Games; we want the responsible behaviors adopted on this occasion to become a permanent cultural norm.”