What are the Youth Olympic Games?

The Olympic flame has arrived in Senegal ahead of the Youth Olympic Games, which get underway in the country in November.

The Games will bring thousands of young athletes together from around the world to compete in a range of sports.

It marks the first time an Olympic event of any kind is being hosted on the African continent.

Team GB will be sending 15 young sporting stars over to Senegal, with gymnastics, badminton and sailing among the sports they will take part in.

But what are the Youth Olympics and what else can we expect? Keep reading to find out.

The Youth Olympic Games give athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 the chance to compete against other talented young people on the world stage.

For some, it could also be the beginning of a journey that eventually takes them to the main Olympic Games.

The Youth Olympics has a summer version and a winter version for the different sports, and is usually held every four years.

This is the fourth time that the summer Youth Olympics will take place, and around 2,700 athletes will be taking part in 25 sports, with most of the events taking place in Senegal's capital Dakar and surrounding areas.

This year's Youth Olympic Games will take place from Saturday 31 October until Friday 13 November 2026.

As is tradition, before the Games begin, the Olympic flame will travel around Senegal.

It was lit in Greece last week - the birthplace of the Olympic Games - and has now arrived in the African country.

It will visit all 14 regions of the Senegal, before heading to the capital Dakar ready for the opening ceremony.

Team GB has selected 15 young athletes to compete in seven sports - archery, badminton, boxing, coastal rowing beach sprint, fencing, gymnastics and sailing.

Gymnastics will have the biggest Team GB presence in Dakar, with six young athletes selected to compete: Helena Finc, Jenitha Johnson, Jamie Reyner-Corbett, Uzair Chowdhury, Ben Porter and Lucas Scully.

Lily Bassett and Micheal Maughan will represent Team GB in boxing.

History will also be made at these Games, with Team GB's Louie Walker and Lexi Gill taking part in coastal rowing beach sprint - a sport making its full Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Coastal rowing beach sprint combines running on the beach, rowing through the water, as well as a final sprint to the finish.

The team also includes Mohammed Belbouab, ranked as the no.1 Cadet foil fencer in Europe, as well as European U17 badminton champion Rajvi Parab.

In sailing, Team GB will be represented by Ruby Webb, while Archie Christopher and Jasmine Harris will compete in archery.