Olympic Times - Sports Daily

The Vision
The vision of the Youth Olympic Games is to inspire young people around the world to participate in sport and adopt and live by the Olympic values. It was during its session in Guatemala in July 2007 that the IOC decided to create a nw sporting event to educate, engage and influence young athletes inspiring them to play an active role in their communities.

What are the YOG?
The Youth Olympic Games are a sporting event for young people, balancing sport, education and culture. These Games work as a catalyst in these fields throughout the Olympic Movement.

The YOG’s objectives are:
1. to bring together the world’s best young athletes and celebrate them
2. to offer a unique and powerful introduction to Olympism
3. to innovate in educating and debating Olympic values and challenges of society
4. to share and celebrate the cultures of the world in a festive atmosphere
5. to reach youth communities throughout the world to promote Olympic values
6. to raise sports awareness and participation among young people
7. to act as a platform for initiatives within the Olympic Movement
8. to be an event of the highest international sporting standard.

Who? What? When?
The Youth Olympic Games aim to bring together talented athletes – aged from 14 to 18 - from around the world to participate in high-level competitions, but also, alongside the sports element of the event, to run educational programmes on the Olympic values, the benefits of sport for a healthy lifestyle, the social values sport can deliver and the dangers of doping and of training to excess and/or of inactivity.

The first ever Summer Youth Olympic Games will bring together approximately 3,200 athletes and 800 officials in 2010. The sports programme will encompass all 26 sports on the programme of the 2012 Summer Games, with a limited number of disciplines and events. The first Winter Olympic Youth Games will bring together around 1,000 athletes and 500 officials. The athletes will compete – for the first time in 2012 - in all seven Olympic Winter Sports. The YOG follow the traditional cycle of four years, with Summer Games in 2010, 2014, 2018, etc and Winter Games in 2012, 2016, 2020, etc.
Moscow and Singapore finalists for 1st ever Summer Youth Olympic Games
Out of a list of nine candidates, Moscow and Singapore have been chosen as the finalists for the election of the Host City of the 1st ever Summer Youth Olympic Games to be held in 2010. Their names, together with the evaluation report, have been be submitted to the IOC members for a postal vote. The winning city will be announced by IOC President Jacques Rogge in a live web cast on www.olympic.org on Friday 21 February 2008 from the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

After the 1st Summer YOG in 2010 come the 1st Winter YOG in 2012
The IOC has already launched the bidding process for the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012. A letter was sent out to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) informing them of the procedure and documentation available for cities interested in bidding for the Games.

Source and for further informations: olympic.org