Luanda: The official opening of the fourth African Youth Games is set to take place on Saturday afternoon at the 11 de Novembro Stadium in Luanda. The ceremony will be led by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Rui Falco.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the event will commence at 5 pm with the parade of the athlete carrying the Olympic torch. This will be followed by the singing of the national anthems of the Republic and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), along with the parade of delegations from the 54 participating countries.
Words of welcome will be delivered by the governor of the province of Luanda, Lus Nunes. The president of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ACNOA), Mustapha Berraf from Algeria, will also speak before the minister's address.
Although the opening ceremony is scheduled for today, competitions across various sports have been ongoing since last Wednesday, as per the competition schedule that continues until the 20th of this month.
The 4th edition of the Games features 21 sports and takes place under the motto 'Youth on the move, united Africa'. Events are being held simultaneously in the provinces of Luanda and Bengo, with participation from 2,025 athletes and more than 600 technical officials, including coaches, heads of delegation, masseuses, and timekeepers.
This multidisciplinary event aims to promote fraternity and unity across Africa, foster cultural, educational, and human exchanges, and enhance the technical, physical, and ethical training of athletes. It seeks to identify the new generation of talents on the continent and reinforce Olympic values of respect, excellence, and solidarity.
Athletics has the most participants, with 364 athletes, followed by swimming with 224, taekwondo with 182, judo with 173, and karate with 165. Angola has the largest delegation, comprising 165 athletes.
Other sizable delegations include Algeria with 151 athletes, Tunisia with 137, South Africa with 108, and Egypt with 105. The Seychelles Islands, with four athletes, along with Malawi and Somalia, each with three, are the least represented countries at the event.
The African Youth Games are part of the celebrations of the jubilee of National Independence, observed on November 11th.
