The upcoming Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games are poised to make a groundbreaking pledge: to host an event completely free from plastic pollution. This significant commitment is the result of a collaborative initiative between the Dakar 2026 organizing committee and Senegal’s Ministry of Environment and Ecological Transition, bolstered by the vital support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Several fundamental principles will guide these Games, aiming to leave a lasting positive impact: a strong focus on reducing single-use plastics; enhancing waste sorting and collection systems across all venues; educating athletes, spectators, and local communities; and mobilizing institutions, the private sector, and civil society towards cultivating a sustainable environmental legacy.

“With this endeavor, Dakar 2026 is set to become a benchmark for sustainable sports events and will significantly contribute to Senegal’s transition towards a circular plastics economy,” the COJOJ enthusiastically stated. “We are not merely launching an environmental project. We are igniting an ambition: to demonstrate, through the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, that a major international event can indeed accelerate the shift towards a more responsible and sustainable circular economy,” commented Fatou Leigh, interim Resident Representative for UNDP Senegal.

“The Youth Olympic Games represent an exceptional opportunity for us,” added Aliou Gory Diouf, the Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition. “We are determined to show that Senegal possesses the capacity to organize the first-ever Olympic event on the African continent, while simultaneously establishing an environmental legacy as impactful as its sporting one. Our ambition extends beyond the Games themselves. We aspire for the responsible behaviors adopted during this period to become an ingrained cultural norm.”