IOC President Coventry looking ahead to the future and Dakar 2026
Following the start of her presidency in June 2025, President Coventry launched ‘Fit for the Future’, a consultation for stakeholders, active athletes, and retired Olympians, to shape the future of the Olympic Games.
It aims to evaluate the current state of the Olympic Movement and improve for what is to come, creating the best possible space for future Games editions.
Zimbabwean Coventry said, “It’s just having really open and honest conversations, which we’ve started to really look at ourselves and say what is right collectively that we believe is our core, and where that focus should be.”
Among the four new working groups is the YOG Working Group, focused on the Youth Olympic Games ahead of the next edition this October. The Summer Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 will be the first Olympic event to be held in Africa, from 31 October to 13 November.
“I think a number of stakeholders are going to be pleasantly surprised, because I think, as Africa, we get overlooked a number of times,” said President Coventry.
“I really think that there are going to be a number of stereotypes that are going to be broken, and a number of expectations that are not going to be just met, but really exceeded. And so I’m very excited about the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.”