IOC president Coventry hails Africa’s first Olympic Games as Dakar 2026 closes

Remarkable, Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. 30 minutes to officially honor and praise the driving force here. Proud soldiers delivering the Senegalese flag. Universal fabric of Senegalese life. Ayo translates to joy, loved everywhere he goes. Thank you for coming. You will each bring a piece of flame to your home. A piece of Senegal, a phone number, of friendship, we really hope to see you again very soon, I don't know where, the president will tell us maybe, but in any case, thank you for existing, thank you for coming to this country that respects you and loves you. Thank you! So much. You made these games unforgettable. To our athletes and our teams, you have all made Olympic history being the first event ever on the African continent. Thank you so much for the last 14 days. I hope that you have had So much fun, so much joy. I hope that you're inspired to go out and change the world and make the world a better place. Merci beaucoup, and to the people of Senegal and Dakar, jerejif. Thank you. The courage of Sundiata Keita, valiant, champion, free, in the image of the proud queen of Zynga. Peace reigns in the world. The four-way party. Our two best hosts tonight, ladies and gentlemen. To be honest, I'm proud of us because for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games we are very proud to wear our colors. And I think that the truth, what I'm going to remember the most is the group with which I had to travel, the same as we said that it was the first Olympic Games in Africa and that we just had to win the gold medal, so that's going to be. Being the first Olympic sporting event in Africa is really special to me because I feel like valued to be in this special event and I hope I make a good impact on the people here and inspire people to start sport.