Olympic flame arrives in Senegal for the first Olympic event to be held in Africa

DAKAR, Senegal - The Olympic flame arrived in Senegal on Saturday for the first Olympic event to be held on the African continent. The flame was greeted with music and dancing as it arrived at Dakar’s Place du Souvenir Africain, a waterfront plaza overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. A procession of 100 women, known as “lingeer,” carried the flame to the plaza in a celebration of Senegalese women and the transmission of values from generation to generation.

Senegalese basketball icon Mame Maty Mbengue lit the Olympic cauldron during the ceremony. Kirsty Coventry, head of the International Olympic Committee and a Zimbabwean, stated that the event represented a "proud moment" for Senegal and the entire continent, promising that the young generation will change the world. The flame departed from Athens, Greece, on Thursday, having been lit using the sun’s rays and a parabolic mirror.

It arrived in Senegal at the Panathenaic Stadium, having begun a 3,600-kilometer (2,237-mile) journey across the country on Monday, with over 400 Senegalese torchbearers participating. The Youth Olympic Games, scheduled to run from October 31 to November 13, will see around 2,700 young athletes compete in 35 sports across Dakar, Diamniadio, and Saly.