Dances, concerts, and shows kick off the 2023 edition of the Dakar en Jeux festival

With three years to go until Senegal host the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games, the African nation celebrated the opening of the second edition of the Dakar en Jeux festival on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

It was near the Renaissance Monument on the outskirts of Dakar that this celebration of the Olympic movement began, on a warm Halloween night, under the musical sounds and rhythms of the many artists of the Opening Ceremony.

“We have people coming from all the regions, cultural artists, we will give them the opportunity to showcase what they are doing in a cultural way and this is very important,” said the CEO of Dakar 2026, Ibrahima Wade to Olympics.com ahead of the celebrations.

Read on for more of the story of a night when the city of Dakar hosted sporting legends, as artists and fans danced and celebrated the Olympic movement in a generous hospitality characteristic of the Senegalese, the Teranga.

Long live sport, long live culture, long live youth!

With his overflowing energy and colorful dreadlocks, Fally Fall does not go unnoticed among the first people present at the Opening Ceremony of the second Dakar en Jeux Festival.

A member of the Afro Dance Roller club, he is the first artist to come on the main stage for the 2023 edition.

“We came here to represent our country in Dakar at the Games, I will celebrate the flag with my skates, I will go down the steps [of the monument]," he explained with pride to Olympics.com of his role in the celebrations building up to the first Youth Olympic Games on African soil, which will take place from 31 October to 13 November 2026.

"It’s going to be impressive to see, and it makes me proud because this is the first time anyone has realized that,” he added.

Dressed in white, he glides onto the steps of the Renaissance Monument, carried by an ancestral Senegalese song. Traditional dancers follow him in a play of light to beautiful effect, with their traditional costumes seeming to hypnotise the young audience. The 14 different regions of Senegal honored in a flood of culture and artistic performance.

On stage, the intensity of the show continues to rise under the eyes of spectators perched high on the road to the 'Corniche ouest.'

Each dance performed by a dozen members who bring their share of energy to cheers from a captivated audience and other dancers backstage.

During the presentation of the last region, that of Dakar, a big ovation occurs, signalling the end of the first part of the Opening Ceremony.

Dance, music, and energy until the end of the night

"In Africa, we have a majority of young people. So these are the people that we want to capitalize on. There will be a legacy that will be lived in this part of the continent." Kenyan athletics legend Paul Tergat told Olympics.com.

Under the eyes of the double Olympic medallist from the Olympic Games Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 and ambassador of Dakar 2026, it is the turn of a troupe of breakers to build the atmosphere on stage. The young dance sport athletes perform spectacular movements on the ground and in the air, carried by the enthusiasm of the public.

The Opening Ceremony then gradually transforms into an opening concert with a program of popular local artists.

With the arrival of the artist Momo Trippy, many young people get closer and form small dance groups, the public then taking up the choruses of their favorite artists such as Jahman X-press, Samba Peuzzi, and Elzo Jamdong, all under the impressive backdrop of the 52 meter tall Renaissance Monument statue, representing a family looking to the future.

Now, the Senegalese public are looking ahead not just to a fortnight of activities in the Dakar en Jeux festival, but also the Opening Ceremony and competitions of the 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Dakar, which promises to be some party.