The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session today ratified the agreement concluded between Senegal and the IOC concerning the postponement to 2026 of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) from Dakar 2022. The proposal, which was approved by the executive board two days earlier, had been formulated earlier this week by the President of Senegal, Mr. Macky Sall, during a telephone interview with President Thomas Bach and after in-depth discussions on the subject.
The postponement of Dakar 2022 allows the IOC, the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and the International Federations (IFs) to better plan their activities, strongly affected by the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the postponements of the major international sports competitions which have monitoring, as well as the operational and financial consequences of the global health crisis.
The past few months have seen significant progress in planning and preparing for the 4it is Summer Youth Olympic Games. Following the official establishment of the Organizing Committee for the Youth Olympic Games (YOGOC) as a legal entity, resources have been mobilized and operational plans are at an advanced stage, with the completion and approval of the publishing plan at the end of June 2020.
The IOC and Senegal are aware that this news will be disappointing for many young athletes. Both parties call for their understanding. This agreement reflects the scale of the operational challenges facing the IOC, the NOCs and the IFs following the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. This is why, in the interest of young athletes, the IOC will continue to ” offer all the IFs and Continental NOC Associations the entire content of the educational programs of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG). This will allow the objectives of this very important and much appreciated component of the YOG to be preserved, during the numerous events which will be organized between now and 2026, in particular within the framework of the Continental Youth Games.
With regard to the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Games, the project, which aims to build on the tremendous legacy of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, continues to progress. A special YOG working group has been set up at national level. It is made up of representatives of the NOC of the Republic of Korea, of Gangwon Province and of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The Organizing Committee for the YOG should be formed by the end of 2020.
The development of the publishing plan has started and Gangwon 2024 intends to take advantage of the activities of the PyeongChang 2018 Heritage Foundation to put in place an action plan and early mobilization through various programs focused on both on sport and education.
You can find all the documents of the 136th IOC Session here.
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