Overnight World Report · October 30, 2026, 4:29 AM CDT
Key Facts
- Dakar to return to Africa in 2027 as Portugal and Morocco set to host 49th edition (via FIA)
Dakar to return to Africa in 2027 as Portugal and Morocco set to host 49th edition.
The 2027 Dakar will take place in Portugal and Morocco, marking the event’s return to the African continent for the first time since 2007.
The 49th edition will serve as the opening round of the 2027 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, with a prologue and 12 stages scheduled from 9 to 23 January.
– Competitors will cover a total distance of 7,824 km, including 4,341 km of competitive special stages, with the route extending from Loulé-Faro in Portugal to Marrakech in Morocco.
The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, has today confirmed that the 49th edition of the Dakar will be exceptionally relocated to Portugal and Morocco from 9 to 23 January 2027, subject to approval by the FIA World Motor Sport Council, marking the event’s return to the African continent for the first time in 20 years.
The event, which will serve as the opening round of the 2027 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, will feature a prologue followed by 12 stages across Portugal and Morocco, covering a total distance of 7,824 km, including 4,341 km of competitive special stages.
The route will incorporate six bivouacs before concluding in Marrakech on 23 January. The relocation follows the decision that the 2027 edition of the Dakar will not take place in Saudi Arabia as originally scheduled following recent developments in the region.
The event will return to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2028 for its 50th edition.[1]
Where It Happened
The pin marks Faro as named in the report, not an exact address. Map data: OpenStreetMap contributors. Street photo (2017): Kolforn (Kolforn)
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How to Verify This Yourself
Read the original reporting directly at FIA — that page is the primary source for everything above.
References
Investigative methodology: this update was produced by scripts/topic_news_roundup.py from real FIA reporting — not a language model. The quoted text above is verbatim from the source, cited; no analysis or interpretation is added.
File photo: ISS-47 Morocco with Strait of Gibraltar and Spain — NASA/Tim Kopra, 2016. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. This image is illustrative and does not depict the people or events in this report.
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