2023-12-28 00:34:56
As the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) fast approach, tensions are emerging between the main partners, the State of Senegal and the City of Dakar.
In a press release published Wednesday, December 27, 2023, the mayor of Dakar protests once morest the fact of having “learned through the press” of the holding of an interministerial council during which the head of state would have “supposedly , praised the work of the various actors”. However, deplores the City of Dakar, it was “neither directly nor remotely associated with this meeting”.
Citing its mayor, the municipal press release vigorously denounces “this selective and sectarian approach” and threatens to refer the matter to the International Olympic Committee if necessary. The City also recalls that “the choice of the Senegalese Capital to host these Games is first and foremost the result of the multiple and dynamic actions carried out by the municipal authorities and their competent services”.
Further, she underlines that “the Olympic Flame was handed over to the Mayor of the City of Dakar”, claiming “its full place in the organization of this world sporting event”. Municipal authorities finally call on the State to “show transparency” and respect “the spirit of the Olympic movement by adopting an inclusive and participatory approach”.
These tense statements illustrate the emerging tensions around the governance of the YOG 2026, the success of which will require close collaboration between the central state and the Senegalese capital, host of the event.
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