This 12 months, Africa will host its first Olympics — the Summer Youth Olympic Games, in Dakar, Senegal, from 31 October to 13 November.
Nearly 3,000 athletes are expected to compete in 153 events. With simply six months to go, NCS’s Victoria Rubadiri spoke with Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi concerning the logistics and legacy of the landmark occasion.
The following interview has been edited for readability and size.
NCS: How vital is journey and connectivity to the success of the video games?
Christophe Dubi: Travel and connectivity, when you might have a worldwide occasion, is at all times extremely necessary. The logistics of it’s actually troublesome. Most of the supply entities are based mostly in Dakar, which is nice for the native economic system. From safety, transport, logistics, meals and drinks, all of those might be native.
But then you might have the entire worldwide methods that come, which is the athletes, their entourage, and in addition the worldwide federations, plus just a few of us from the International Olympic Committee. All in all, I might say it’s most likely shut to five,000 those who should come from outdoors into Dakar.
NCS: How necessary is it to have intra-African journey and motion of those athletes?
Dubi: It’s true that it is necessary for the occasion, however not solely that. It’s not at all times extremely handy (in Africa) to journey from one nation to the following. You should go from a spoke to a number of hubs, generally even again in Europe. So we try to make this as environment friendly as attainable. We are additionally relying on the continental affiliation of National Olympic Committees in Africa to assist us. Why not have just a few constitution flights from completely different locations? So these are the kind of components we’re wanting into.
But it’s not at all times straightforward to make sure a direct point-to-point flight, and sure, you might have the intra-African continent, however you might have everyone coming from outdoors as effectively, even Europe, and if you journey from the place I sit right here in Lausanne in Switzerland, it takes a day to come back to Dakar.
NCS: I don’t need to get away from the truth that that is historic and what this second means for the continent.
Dubi: It’s extremely symbolic as a result of the continent has been producing wonderful sports activities competitions, together with the (2010) FIFA World Cup and plenty of others.
We should think about that for nearly 70% of the athletes coming from outdoors, will probably be the primary time, additionally as a result of their younger age, that they’re coming to the continent, that they are going to be uncovered to the town of Dakar, to the native tradition. So, that is actually historic.
These younger skills, some will change into Olympic champions, little question, however they may all be ambassadors of not solely the Youth Games, the Olympic values, which we’ve got on the core, but in addition of Dakar, Senegal and the continent.
NCS: Let’s speak about one thing that has been touted because the continent’s “superpower,” and that’s the youth benefit. With such an enormous younger inhabitants, what function do you see them enjoying in international athletics?
Dubi: I say (it’s) an occasion for the youth, extra importantly, by the youth. If there’s one legacy that this occasion will go away a long-lasting impression on Dakar, but in addition the continent, it’s the workforce and the abilities that can have been revealed.
We have created a program for educating and training younger skills from Senegal, but in addition from the entire continent, on the very particular calls for of an occasion … the Youth Games. This experience will be capable to be disseminated throughout the continent for sport, however (additionally) every other occasions — you arrange a marriage, you arrange a live performance or a sport occasion, similar ideas.
NCS: How does Senegal stand to realize past the 2026 Games?
Dubi: Transportation, logistics, personal safety, all of those could have new experience at a degree and magnitude that’s most likely unprecedented. They (Dakar) have hosted lots of worldwide occasions, lots of conventions, in fact, however this can be a lot occurring on the similar time. So you merely want extra, and this extra means extra capacities sooner or later to host. And I might hope that they may have the will and definitely the boldness, that goes with out saying, to bid for occasions in Dakar. So that might be a terrific legacy for the sporting system.
NCS: Let’s speak about readiness and infrastructure, notably on the subject of funding.
Dubi: We nonetheless have six months, so that they’re not there but, however actually fairly shut. And I feel everyone must be very, very happy with this — the sporting authorities, but in addition the authorities at giant, as a result of doing this these days means one thing for sport and for residents.
NCS: Are there any challenges or dangers that you simply see coming down the street?
Dubi: These final six months we’re going into is the place a lot of the cash’s being spent. This is the place all of the sources will materialize on the bottom. So, the problem in Dakar, prefer it was the case eight months in the past in Milano (for the Winter Olympics), is the huge quantity of labor that’s to be delivered for the occasion.
If you arrange an occasion at your house, these final quarter-hour earlier than your visitors are coming, you know the way aggravating it’s and the variety of issues you must do to make it nice after they knock the door at 8 p.m. — it’s precisely the identical. We are in that six months the place all the things comes collectively, and that’s the problem.
There is nothing particular the place I say it’s late or we’re lacking (one thing) — not the case in any respect. We have nice groundwork, we’ve got nice planning, we’ve got the sources, improbable assist from the federal government, excellent organizing committee, very proficient children, good corporations as effectively for logistics, transportation, personal safety — all that is in place. But it’s now placing all this collectively and that’s the duty that’s at all times complicated when you might have so many variables.