Walvis Bay to welcome Youth Olympic flame tour
Walvis Bay will host the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games Flame Tour celebration this Saturday, featuring a community walk, sports workshops and Olympic education activities.
The Namibia National Olympic Committee and Commonwealth Games Association (NNOC-CGA) announced that the “We Run for Africa” celebration will bring together schools, sports clubs, community groups and members of the public.
According to the committee, arrival and registration will begin at 07:30, with the Flame Tour Walk from Lagoon Promenade to Atlantis Sports Club scheduled between 07:30 and 09:00.
Speeches by NNOC-CGA leadership, government representatives and members of the Athletes’ Commission will follow at 09:00.
From 10:00, participants will take part in workshops covering rhythmic gymnastics, karate and ocean conservation. The programme will also include colouring activities, jumping castles and an Olympic education station before concluding at 12:00.
Continental participation
The tour, themed “Pass the Energy”, forms part of a continent-wide, one-day activation coordinated by National Olympic Committees across Africa ahead of the global showpiece in Dakar, Senegal, from 31 October to 13 November.
The activations are being held in partnership with the International Olympic Committee, Olympic Solidarity and the Olympic Values Education Programme.
Activities across the continent on 12 September aim to symbolically cover 30 500 km, which organisers described as the approximate circumference of Africa.
Young people will contribute through running and walking activities combined with educational and sporting workshops.
In its statement, the NNOC-CGA described the Youth Olympic Flame reaching Africa as a first for the continent ahead of Dakar 2026, which it said would be the first Olympic event of any kind hosted on African soil.
NNOC-CGA president Dr Ndeulipula Hamutumwa said Namibia’s young people would be part of the occasion.
“This is a historic first for our continent. The Youth Olympic Flame will touch African soil for the very first time, and we are proud that Namibia's young people will be part of welcoming it,” he said.
Leaving a legacy
The committee said the tour was designed to engage young people with the Olympic values of friendship, respect and excellence.
It also aims to leave an educational legacy through the Dakar 2026 Flame Tour Toolkit, developed for students aged six to 16. Hamutumwa said he hoped participating children would leave feeling that the Olympic dream was theirs too.
The NNOC-CGA has encouraged schools, sports clubs, community groups and members of the public to join the walk and activities.
Updates on the Flame Tour and Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games will be available through the committee’s website and social media channels.
Participants sharing content from the event are encouraged to tag @Olympics and @jojdakar2026.
