Photo credit, Courtesy of Khady Niang
A few hours before the official opening of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), Khady Niang, director of ceremonies within the organizing committee, explains to BBC News Africa what these Games represent for Senegal and for the African continent, which is hosting an Olympic event for the first time.
Without revealing the content of the show reserved for spectators and viewers from around the world, she promises “a ceremony which will touch the world, a ceremony to touch humanity” and which will make the international public “want to know more about Africa”.
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The organizational challenge
Photo credit, Patrick Meinhardt/Getty Images
“Africa welcomes, Dakar celebrates” is the slogan of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
While the opening ceremony is scheduled for this Saturday, October 31, 2026, fever is rising in the Senegalese capital but especially within the committee which is at the heart of the organization.
As director of ceremonies within the organizing committee, Khady Niang is one of those who experiences from the inside the stress, the fever, the adrenaline rush as D-Day approaches.
''My day starts very early in the morning around 7:00 a.m. and ends very late in the evening,'' says the young lady. “I take advantage of the calm to respond to all the emails, from 9 a.m., the meetings come one after the other. »
There are also visits to competition sites in his diary. Everything must be ready on the big day so that the party is great and the young talents shine during the two weeks of competition in their respective disciplines.
“I have a lot of meetings with the institutions because it is a question of the image of the country. When it comes to ceremonies, we work in close collaboration with the institutions and with the IOC,” specifies the director of ceremonies.
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His days often end with briefing sessions with Ibrahima Wade, general coordinator of the Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee (COYOG Dakar 2026).
While Africa is hosting this event for the first time, Khady Niang fully appreciates the responsibility that weighs on the shoulders of the organizing committee.
“We are in the events business. There is stress, tears, doubts. But above all there is a desire to succeed and the conviction that we will achieve it,” she says.
Asked what awaits spectators and television viewers during the opening ceremony, she promises “the most beautiful Olympic ceremony that has ever taken place”.
“It will be the most beautiful Olympic ceremony, I weigh my words,” she insists.
“Africa has a lot to say because it will be a ceremony that will touch the whole world. It’s a ceremony to touch humans,” continues Khady Niang. “It is not a ceremony intended to impress, nor a ceremony that has already been seen or bling-bling. It is a ceremony to tell ourselves, to tell our story to the world, to touch the world, welcome it and show it who we are. »
In his eyes, this first Olympic event organized on African soil constitutes “a unique opportunity to tell ourselves and show the world that Africa has a new face, that of dynamic youth”.
“We have extraordinary values: Téranga (hospitality), Jom (honor), Fulla (pride) and Fayda (dignity). We are going to show the world who we are, where we come from, what we are and where we want to go,” she concludes, believing that this function represents both an “honor,” a “challenge” and a “responsibility.”
A professional career that commands respect
Khady Niang, director of ceremonies, is no stranger to the entertainment world. She has nearly 17 years of professional career in this sector.
“I actually have a rather atypical background, at the crossroads of art and project management,” explains the woman who first studied accounting before working in advertising and events, then moving into the artistic field, particularly professional makeup.
Initially self-employed, she founded the African Makeup Academy, presented as the first makeup school in Senegal, then the African Beauty Agency, an agency bringing together professional makeup artists and hairdressers working in cinema, fashion and live entertainment.
“I was able to build some credibility. It was therefore quite natural that I was associated with this project, because this credibility already existed,” she explains.
Recognition acquired over a career during which she collaborated, as a makeup artist then as an event organizer, with many renowned African creators, artists and filmmakers.
“This experience allowed me to define the strategy for this ceremony project and to implement it today,” she concludes.
A message to young Senegalese and African girls
Very engaged on issues of inclusion and women's empowerment for years, she sent a message to young Senegalese and African girls. ''There is no longer a glass ceiling''. ''The world is made in such a way that there are no more limits for them''.
''There are no more limits in terms of the quest for knowledge, in terms of the quest for equal rights for young boys'', evoking the example of the 100 Linguères march which was organized to welcome the Olympic flame in Senegal.
''It was 100 Senegalese women from different backgrounds of different ages, but above all it was a source of inspiration for the future generation of African women''.
“I would like to tell these young African girls that the world is actually at their feet and that all horizons are open to them.”
Icons as references
In his professional rise to this key position, at the head of the YOG Dakar 2026 ceremonies, Khady Niang does not forget those who accompanied his first steps in the professional world.
She particularly mentions a “big brother”, a strategist and financier, who taught her very early on the importance of a long-term vision and helped her lay the foundations of her career. She also cites the stylist Adama Paris, who opened the doors to the world of fashion for her.
“I will never forget it. After my studies and my professional career in France, I arrived in Senegal on June 30, 2009. A few days later, Dakar Fashion Week was held. It was my first experience and she immediately took me by the hand. She accompanied me and never let go,” she says.
The Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako, director of Timbuktu, one of the most awarded African films, has also marked his career.
“The film Timbuktu was a turning point in my career in cinema,” she says.
Finally, Youssou Ndour opened the doors of television to her by entrusting her with the position of first head make-up artist at TFM. He also renewed his confidence in her during her show Birima, presented in 2023 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, where she led the makeup and hairstyling teams.
A few hours before the official opening of the YOG Dakar 2026, Khady Niang promises a unique ceremony. “The memory that each spectator will have to keep from this ceremony is really to say to themselves: “Wow!” “, she confides.
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