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The International Olympic Committee has pressed “pause” on the Youth Olympic Games.
The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games still will go on as scheduled in Senegal, Africa, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13 — as will the 2028 Youth Winter Games in Italy.
However, the future of the event, created nearly two decades ago for young athletes between the ages of 14 and 18, is in doubt.
The IOC’s Executive Board in early May halted the selection process for a host city for 2030. That selection was scheduled for June.
“We decided we need to pause and have a real reflection on why we’re doing the Youth Olympic Games, and we realized that across the movement, it’s very disjointed,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry said when making the announcement. “There’s not a true north star of why we’re doing the Youth Olympic Games.”
The decision, according to the IOC, was based on “somewhat inconclusive results” of a recent survey sent to all National Olympic Committees and International Federations regarding the Youth Olympic Games.
“That assessment,” Youth Sports Business Report speculated, “suggests the federations and committees responsible for athlete development are not aligned on what the event delivers. The review will need to address that gap before a 2030 host is selected.”
Coventry said at the committee’s executive board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on May 7 that “it was necessary … above all, to ensure that [the Youth Olympic Games are] appropriate for athletes in terms of their careers and development.”
“We felt that it was the right time, instead of awarding any future [Youth] Games, to really look at what it is we want this event to be for us and what it is we want … to develop and how do we want to really and truly engage with the young audiences around the world,” Coventry added.
This year’s Summer Youth Olympic Games will be the fourth — returning after an eight-year hiatus — and the first time any Olympic sporting event will be held in Africa. The Games will feature 153 events across 25 sports at three sites: Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.
Then, in what could be the final Youth Olympic Games (at least for a while), Dolomiti Valtellina, Italy, will host the 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games in several of the same venues as the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Previous Summer Youth Olympic Games were held in Singapore (2010), China (2014) and Argentina (2018), while previous Winter Youth Olympic Games took place in Austria (2012), Norway (2016), Switzerland (2020) and South Korea (2024).
“For organizations operating across the youth sports ecosystem, the IOC’s pause is a signal worth tracking,” Youth Sports Business Report said, adding the following:
The Olympic movement is publicly acknowledging that its highest-profile youth event lacks a clear value proposition for the federations, athletes and audiences it is meant to serve.
That acknowledgment opens space for change. A reformatted Youth Olympics could prioritize tighter integration with senior pathways, expanded esports or action sports content, or new partnership models with grassroots organizations. It could also lead to a smaller event footprint, or a redefinition of what counts as Olympic youth engagement outside of a host-city competition format. …
Coventry framed the goal as determining “how do we want to really and truly engage with the young audiences around the world” before committing to another host. Until that question is answered, the development pathway role of the Youth Olympics inside the broader youth sports landscape remains an open question.
In a statement, the IOC reiterated that it “remains fully committed” to the 2026 and 2028 editions of the Youth Olympic Games — “even as reflection and consultation on future … editions continue.”
Unfortunately, international multi-sport events (other than the Olympics) have struggled to survive. The World Combat Games, the World Urban Games and others have long fought against problems, including a declining sponsorship base, difficulty securing media coverage, issues with venues and concerns from host cities whose leaders need to see a return on their investment.
The Global Association of International Sports Federations, one of the governing bodies for the above events, closed up shop in 2022, putting its events on hold indefinitely.
The website of another multi-sport event, the World Beach Games (which are presented by the Association of National Olympic Committees), has not been updated for several years, meaning those may be washed up as well.
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