09/12/26 06:13:00
Printable Page
09/12 18:12 CDT Olympic flame arrives in Senegal for the first Olympic event to
be held in Africa
Olympic flame arrives in Senegal for the first Olympic event to be held in
Africa
By MARK BANCHEREAU
Associated Press
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) --- The Olympic flame was welcomed by music and dancing in
Senegal 's capital Saturday, as a march by 100 women marked the countdown to
the first Olympic sporting event held in Africa --- the Youth Olympic Games.
More than a hundred people gathered at Dakar's Place du Souvenir Africain, a
waterfront plaza overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by portraits of
prominent figures from Africa and its diaspora, to greet the flame ahead of the
Youth Olympic Games next month.
The event, running from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13, will bring together about 2,700
young athletes to compete in 35 sports across Dakar and the nearby cities
Diamniadio and Saly.
The Youth Olympics, first held in Singapore in 2010, are a smaller version of
the Olympic Games for athletes aged 15 to 18.
The flame was carried on Saturday by 100 Senegalese women, known as "lingeer"
--- a title for queens or royal women in Wolof, one of the main languages of
Senegal. They included influential actors from the cultural, sports and
economic sectors.
Dressed in flowing orange and golden traditional dresses with yellow headwraps,
they carried the flame to the plaza in a procession celebrating Senegalese
women and the passing of values between generations.
Gacirah Diagne, one of the lingeer, said the Games will inspire young people
across Africa, the continent with the world's youngest population.
"Senegal is only the gateway to showcase a continent that is moving forward and
looking to the future," she said. "It is only natural that we support its
youth."
Senegalese basketball legend Mame Maty Mbengue lit the Olympic cauldron at the
ceremony.
The president of the International Olympic Committee Kirsty Coventry, who is
from Zimbabwe, said the Games will be a "proud moment" for Senegal and the
continent.
"Everyone that comes to Senegal in a few weeks is going to leave it knowing
that Africa and Senegal are capable and unstoppable, and our young generation
are going to change the world," Coventry told the gathered crowds.
The flame left the Greek capital, Athens, on Thursday, where it was lit using
the sun's rays and a parabolic mirror, following Olympic tradition, before
being handed to Senegal at the Panathenaic Stadium.
It will begin a 3,600-kilometer (2,237-mile) tour of Senegal on Monday,
traveling through all 14 regions with over 400 Senegalese torchbearers before
returning to the capital for the official opening ceremony.
|
