The country welcomed nearly 2,700 young competitors under age 17 from around the world, who competed across 25 sports and 153 medal events over the course of two weeks.
The Youth Games draw to a close Friday evening in Senegal, with organisers calling the first Olympics ever hosted on African soil a success that proves the continent capable of hosting a major international event.
The country welcomed nearly 2,700 young competitors under age 17 from around the world, who competed across 25 sports and 153 medal events over the course of two weeks.
Across the capital -- one of three municipalities where competitions took place -- the enthusiasm was palpable, with spectators erupting into booming cheers whenever a Senegalese or other African athlete scored or won.
A total of 136 Senegalese athletes competed in the Games, against a backdrop of enthusiasm usually reserved for football in the west African nation of some 19 million.
Banners placed across the city proclaimed "Africa welcomes, Dakar celebrates" and enormous statues of mascot Ayo the lion decorated intersections and landmarks.
"I think that everyone came here with certain expectations and I think those expectations have been far exceeded", International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Kirsty Coventry, a former Zimbabwean swimmer, said in her closing address Thursday.
