📌 Guidance for the media when reporting on young athletes and their stories at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games For 2,700 young athletes aged up to 17, Dakar 2026 will be their first experience on a global sporting stage. Media interest is huge. A total of 600+ journalists are accredited. We look forward to welcoming them all. We want to make this an unforgettable experience for the athletes and we want to provide the best possible working conditions for the media. To safeguard the athletes and protect media professionals from inadvertently exposing themselves to risk, we have developed guidance based on UNICEF's Ethical Guidelines for Reporting on Children and the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This guidance is explicitly not intended to tell the media how to do their work, but to raise awareness of the situation of underage athletes. It is for everyone's benefit and will be shared as an annex to the media guide. Looking forward to the Opening Ceremony of the Dakar Youth Olympic Games next Friday, 31 October. Africa Welcomes, Dakar Celebrates. L’Afrique accueille, Dakar célèbre. Afrig Dalal, Ndakaaru Jëmël.

📌 Welcome to the family, Ayo, the mascot of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. He takes centre stage as we approach the Opening Ceremony next Saturday (31 October). Since their introduction in Singapore 2010, the Youth Olympic Games have their own mascots. For Dakar Ayo was born. The name means “joy” in Yoruba, a language widely spoken in West Africa, mainly Nigeria. Ayo is a smiley young lion with a mane. He wears a Tingandé, the traditional hat worn by the Fulani ethnic group, who are spread across several African countries. He also wears a white T-shirt bearing the Dakar 2026 emblem and red, yellow and green shorts. His outfit blends contemporary fashion with traditional clothing. Ayo symbolises the joyful and courageous soul of the African youth, embodying celebration, hospitality and the unity in diversity. ➡️ The other members of the family are: ▪️Singapore 2010: Lyo and Merly ▪️Innsbruck 2012: Yoggl ▪️Nanjing 2014: Nanjinglele ▪️Lillehammer 2016: Sjogg ▪️Buenos Aires 2018: Pandi ▪️Lausanne 2020: Yodli ▪️Gangwon 2024: Moongcho 📎 All about the mascots in one document: library.olympics.com/Default…

📌 Here are the beautiful victory ceremony podiums and trays for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics. They are inspired by local craftsmanship. A great look for the best young athletes of the world. Eleven days to go! 📎 olympics.com/en/dakar-2026/n…