Alibaba is bringing Senegalese drumming into its Dakar 2026 activation, using artificial intelligence to connect visitors with the culture surrounding the Youth Olympic Games. The company’s latest announcement follows an opening-ceremony film that virtually brought together 100 participants to play the sabar drum.
At the Festival Site on Dakar’s Corniche West, the Teranga Beat installation lets visitors play a real sabar drum before receiving an AI-generated video of themselves performing in traditional clothing. Their avatars join a collective performance on a giant drum-shaped screen, according to the International Olympic Committee. Teranga is a Wolof word associated with hospitality.
The opening-ceremony film used Alibaba’s WAN video model and featured participants from the Dakar 2026 Learning Academy. The activation puts a local cultural practice at the centre of a global technology partner’s Olympic presence, with spectators taking part in the performance themselves.
The partnership also extends behind the scenes. Alibaba says its Apsara Stack private cloud supports ticketing, e-visas and venue access during the Games. The infrastructure is due to be handed over to Senegal afterwards as a foundation for a national cloud platform.
Dakar 2026 runs from October 31 to November 13, with competition across Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.
