Khalil Cissé reveals bigger ambitions for YOG opening ceremony
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on SeneNews
Khalil Cissé, artistic director of the opening ceremony of Dakar 2026 YOG, says that “L’Envol de Sitoé” was designed with ambitions far greater than the version presented to the public. In an interview with L’Observateur, he details the show’s conception and constraints, according to SeneNews.
Khalil Cissé, artistic director of the opening ceremony of the Dakar 2026 YOG, says that “L’Envol de Sitoé” was designed on a scale far greater than the one presented to the public. “The project was not necessarily what we saw. It was a thousand times bigger,” he said in an interview with L’Observateur.
The show was built around the family, with three figures called “Maam, Doom, Set”, respectively representing the grandmother, child and grandson, Khalil Cissé explained to L’Observateur. He presents this family storyline as the starting point for the artistic project.
The revelation comes after the presentation of the Dakar YOG artistic director, who had until then remained anonymous in communications about the ceremony. It also comes after Khady Niang’s explanations of the cultural choices for the Dakar YOG, published on 4 November.
