The Olympic Flame began its historic journey to Senegal on Thursday, September 10, after being lit at Athens’ iconic Panathenaic Stadium ahead of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
The ceremony marked a significant moment for the Olympic movement. Dakar 2026 will be the first Olympic event ever held on African soil, bringing the Games to a continent that has never before hosted an Olympic or Youth Olympic event.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry attended the ceremony, which brought together Greek and Senegalese athletes, officials and performers at the marble stadium that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Hellenic Olympic Committee President Isidoros Kouvelos formally handed the Flame to Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye, president of the Dakar 2026 Organising Committee. The Flame will travel to Senegal ahead of the Games, which will take place from October 31 to November 13, 2026.
From Athens to Africa
The ceremony followed a special protocol used for the Youth Olympic Games. Unlike the traditional Olympic Flame ceremony, in which the Flame is lit in Ancient Olympia and later handed over, the lighting and handover for Dakar 2026 took place during the same ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium.
Greek actress Katerina Misichroni served as High Priestess for the first time. The first torchbearer was Greek athlete Eleni Iakovaki, a bronze medalist in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships.
She was followed during the short relay inside the stadium by basketball player Brancou Badio, sailor Kyriaki Zerva, Senegalese swimmer Oumy Diop, Senegalese hurdler Louis François Mendy and Greek rower Iason Mouselimis, who lit the cauldron.
The ceremony also brought together Greek and Senegalese culture. Greek singer-songwriter Athena Andreadis performed a contemporary interpretation of the Olympic Anthem, while Senegalese singer Kya Loum represented the host nation with a cultural performance and Senegal’s national anthem.
The artistic direction and choreography were created by Artemis Ignatiou, with music by Marios Joannou Elia and costumes for the priestesses designed by Greek fashion designer Mary Katrantzou.
“A New Chapter for the Olympic Movement”
For Coventry, the ceremony carried a particularly personal significance.
The former Zimbabwean swimmer won her first Olympic medals at the Athens Games in 2004. More than two decades later, she returned to the Greek capital as IOC president to witness the Olympic Flame begin its journey toward Africa.
The Dakar Games, she said, represent an important new chapter for the Olympic movement.
The symbolism extends beyond the ceremony itself. The Flame leaves Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Olympic tradition, and travels to Senegal for an event centered on young athletes and a new generation of the Olympic movement.
Kouvelos similarly emphasized the values associated with the Flame, including peace, respect, friendship, solidarity and human dignity.
“The Flame belongs to the youth,” he said.
A Historic First for Africa
The Flame is expected to arrive in Dakar on September 12. Two days later, a nationwide relay will begin, taking it through more than 30 stages across all 14 regions of Senegal before it reaches the opening ceremony on October 31.
Approximately 2,700 young athletes are expected to compete across three host areas — Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.
The Games will feature a mixture of Olympic sports and youth-focused events, but their significance goes beyond competition.
For Senegal and the wider African continent, Dakar 2026 represents a historic first. For the Olympic movement, it is an opportunity to bring the Games to a new generation and a new part of the world.
And once again, the journey begins in Athens.
At the Panathenaic Stadium, the same marble stands that connected modern Greece with the revival of the Olympics in 1896 provided the setting for another historic departure — this time, with the Olympic Flame heading south toward Africa.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
