Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games: The Organizing Committee clarifies the selection process for the production company of the ceremonies.

Reputable disinformation outlets are tirelessly working to find sensational stories and scoops with the clear intention of undermining the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, which, as a national event, should be a matter of consensus. Following the dissemination of fake news regarding the non-participation of the United States of America in the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games—information that was completely erroneous and formally denied—the choice of the production company for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games is now the subject of misinformation and entirely unfounded judgments, and so on…

It is important to set the record straight, for the benefit of all. Since November 2025, within the framework of a joint workshop bringing together the COJOJ, the Central Directorate of Public Procurement (DCMP) and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (ARCOP), it has been recommended, given the strategic, specific and highly confidential nature of the ceremonies, to use a direct agreement procedure with a qualified service provider.

However, in the interest of transparency and good governance, the COJOJ chose to go beyond this recommendation by launching a Call for Expressions of Interest (AMI) on November 27, 2025. Six companies or groups responded to this consultation.

Following a rigorous evaluation process involving the operational, financial and artistic departments of the COJOJ as well as the Ministry of Culture, four candidates were shortlisted and then two finalist groups were selected after several phases of technical, artistic and financial analysis.

The negotiations also aimed to find the best balance between the ambitions of the ceremonies and the project's budgetary constraints. Final discussions were therefore initiated with the consortium offering the strongest technical and financial guarantees.

Contrary to some interpretations, no choices were made in violation of transparency rules. The direct agreement procedure, duly authorized by the DCMP, is proceeding normally to ensure an opening ceremony befitting the ambitions of our country and the continent.

The COJOJ remains fully committed to respecting the principles of transparency, good governance and responsibility in order to deliver ceremonies worthy of the first Olympic event organized on the African continent.

THE COJOJ