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Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. [1] Organized by the International Olympic Committee, the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format, though in reverse order with the Olympic Winter Games held in leap years instead of the Games of the Olympiad. The first summer version was held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010 while the first winter version was held in Austria from 13 to 22 January 2012. [2]
The idea of such an event was introduced by Johann Rosenzopf from Austria in 1998. On 6 July 2007, International Olympic Committee members at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City approved the creation of a youth version of the Olympic Games, with the intention of sharing the costs of hosting the event between the IOC and the host city, whereas the travelling costs of athletes and coaches were to be paid by the IOC. These Games will also feature cultural exchange programs and opportunities for participants to meet Olympic athletes.
Several other Olympic events for youth, like the European Youth Olympic Festival held every other year with summer and winter versions, and the Australian Youth Olympic Festival, have proven successful. The Youth Games are modelled after these sporting events. [3] The YOG is also a successor to the discontinued World Youth Games.
The Summer Youth Olympic Games of Singapore in 2010 and Nanjing in 2014 each played host to 3600 athletes and lasted 13 days, whereas the Winter YOG of Innsbruck in 2012 had 1059 athletes and Lillehammer in 2016 had 1100 athletes and lasted 10 days. Even though this exceeded initial estimates, [4] [5] the YOG are still both smaller in size as well as shorter than their senior equivalents. The most recent Summer YOG was the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games of Buenos Aires. The most recent Winter YOG was the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games of Gangwon, South Korea. The next Summer YOG to take place will be the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics of Dakar, Senegal.
The concept of the Youth Olympic Games came from Austrian industrial manager Johann Rosenzopf in 1998. [6] This was in response to growing global concerns about childhood obesity and the dropping participation of youth in sport activities, especially amongst youth in developed nations. [7] It was further recognized that a youth version of the Olympic Games would help foster participations in the Olympic Games. [8] Despite these reasons for having an Olympic event for young people, the IOC's response of holding a purely sporting event was negative. [9] IOC delegates wanted the event to be as much about cultural education and exchange as it was about sports, which is why the Culture and Education Program (CEP) was developed as a component of each celebration of the Games. [9] Jacques Rogge, IOC President, formally announced plans for the Youth Olympic Games at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City on 6 July 2007. [10] There are several goals for the YOG, and four of them include bringing together the world's best young athletes, offering an introduction into Olympism, innovating in educating and debating Olympic values. [11] The city of Singapore was announced as the host of the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics on 21 February 2008. [12] On 12 December 2008 the IOC announced that Innsbruck, host of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics, would be the host of the inaugural Winter Youth Olympics in 2012. [13]
The scale of the Youth Olympic Games is smaller than that of the Olympics, which is intentional and allows for smaller cities to host an Olympic event. Potential host cities are required to keep all events within the same city and no new sports venues should be built. [11] Exceptions to this building moratorium include a media centre, amphitheatre facilities for classes and workshops, and a village for coaches and athletes. [11] This village is to be the heart of the Games for the athletes, and the hub of activity. [11] No new or unique transportation systems are required as all athletes and coaches will be transported by local shuttles. [11] According to bid procedures, the athletics venue must hold 10,000 people, and a bidding city must have a 2,500-seat aquatics facility for the Summer editions. [14]
The original estimated costs for running the Games were US$30 million for the Summer and $15 million to $20 million for Winter Games (these costs did not include infrastructure improvements for venue construction). The IOC has stipulated that costs for infrastructure and venues is to be paid by the host city. [15] The IOC will pay travel costs to the host city and room and board for the athletes and judges, estimated at $11 million. The funding will come from IOC funds and not revenues. The budgets for the final two bids for the inaugural Summer Games as submitted by the IOC came in at $90 million, much higher than the estimated costs. [16] The cost of the first games in Singapore escalated to an estimated S$387 million ($284 million). [17] [18] Sponsors have been slow to sign on for the YOG, due to the fact that it is a new initiative and corporations are not sure what level of exposure they will get. [16] The budget for the inaugural Winter Games to be held in Innsbruck has been estimated at $22.5 million, which does not include infrastructure improvements and venue construction. [19]
Over 200 countries and 3,600 athletes participated in the inaugural 2010 Youth Summer Olympics. [20] Participants are placed in the following age groups: 15–16 years, 16–17 years, and 17–18 years. [21] The athlete's age is determined by how old they are by 31 December of the year they are participating in the YOG. [11] Qualification to participate in the Youth Olympics is determined by the IOC in conjunction with the International Sport Federations (ISF) for the various sports on the program. [11] To ensure that all nations are represented at the YOG the IOC instituted the concept of Universality Places. A certain number of spots in each event are to be left open for athletes from under-represented nations regardless of qualifying marks. This is to ensure that every nation will be able to send at least four athletes to each Youth Olympic Games. [11] For team tournaments one team per continent will be allowed to compete along with a sixth team either representing the host nation or as proposed by the IF with IOC approval. There is a cap of two teams (one boys' and one girls') per nation. [11] Finally, no nation may enter more than 70 athletes in individual sports. [11]
All sports on the core program of the Summer Olympics, as well as most of the optional sports added in the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, have been represented in the program of the Summer Youth Olympics. Most team sports use versions with reduced team sizes, including replacing regular basketball with 3x3 basketball, football with futsal, handball with beach handball, field hockey with hockey5s, indoor volleyball with beach volleyball, and, in 2026, baseball with baseball5. The 2026 edition will mark the first time the summer youth program has an equal number of events for boys and girls. [22]
Unlike the traditional Games, it is up to the Organizing Committee to choose which disciplines will be chosen to be played in collective sports. Twenty-seven sports were introduced in the 2010 Games. The Organizing Committee for the 2014 Games, chose beach volleyball (replacing their indoor counterpart) and field hockey as optional sport. In the 2018 Games, six sports were introduced: beach handball (replacing their indoor counterpart), breakdancing, futsal (replacing their association counterpart), karate, roller speed skating and sport climbing. The 28 Olympic core sports are expected to feature in the 2026 Games, being confirmed in 2020. [23] [24]
The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current and discontinued Summer Youth Olympic Games official program and are listed alphabetically according to the name used by the IOC. The discontinued sports were previously part of the Summer Youth Olympic Games program as official sports, but are no longer on the current program. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport contested at the respective Games; a bullet (•) denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport.
Six sports have been demonstrated at the Summer Youth Olympics. Skateboarding, Sports Climbing, Inline Speed Skating, and Wushu were demonstrated at the 2014 games and included in subsequent editions. Three sports were demonstrated at the 2018 games and have not yet been included in subsequent editions:
All sports on the core program of the Winter Olympics have been a part of every Winter Youth Olympics. In 2020, ski mountaineering was added as an optional sport (it was later added to the program of the 2026 Winter Olympics). [26] The 2024 Winter Youth Olympics marked the first time at any Olympic Games that the program included an equal number of events for male and female athletes. [27] No sports have been demonstrated at the Winter Youth Olympics. There have been 46 disciplines across 16 sports in the Winter Youth Olympics between the 2012 Games to the 2020 Games.
The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current and discontinued Winter Youth Olympic Games official program and are listed alphabetically according to the name used by the IOC. The discontinued sports were previously part of the Winter Youth Olympic Games program as official sports, but are no longer on the current program.
Sport | Discipline | Code & Pictogram | Body | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Biathlon | BTH | IBU | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||
Bobsleigh | BOB | IBSF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
Skeleton | SKN | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||
Curling | CUR | World Curling | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
Ice Hockey | IHO | IIHF | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||
Luge | LUG | FIL | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | ||
Skating | Figure | FSK | ISU | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
Short Track Speed | STK | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | |||
Speed | SSK | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | |||
Skiing | Alpine | ALP | FIS | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
Cross-Country | CCS | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | |||
Freestyle | FRS | 4 | 6 | 8 | 12 | |||
Nordic Combined | NCB | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | |||
Ski Jumping | SJP | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||
Snowboarding | SBD | 4 | 7 | 9 | 9 | |||
Ski Mountaineering | SMT | ISMF | 5 | |||||
Total events | 62 | 70 | 81 | 81 | ||||
Total sports | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 |
Education and culture are also key components for the Youth edition. Not only does the education/culture aspect apply to athletes and participants, but also youth around the world and inhabitants of the host city and surrounding regions. To this end, a Culture and Education Program (CEP) will be featured at each Games. [8] The first CEP at the 2010 Singapore Games featured events that fostered cooperation amongst athletes of different nations. It had classes on topics ranging from health and fitness to the environment and career planning. Local students from Singapore made booths at the World Culture Village that represented each of the 205 participating National Olympic Committee. [28] The Chat with Champions sessions were the most popular portion of the program. [8] Participants were invited to hear inspirational talks given by former and current Olympic athletes. [8]
Also part of the CEP is the Young Ambassadors Programme, Young Reporters Programme and Athlete Role Models. [29] Under the Young Ambassadors Programme, a group of youths aged 18 to 25 years old are nominated by the NOCs to help promote the YOG in their regions and communities, and encourage the athletes to participate in the CEP programmes.
The Young Reporters Programme [30] provides journalism students or those who have recently started their journalism careers a cross-platform journalist-training programme and on-the-job experience during the YOG. Young Reporters, between the ages of 18 and 24, are selected by the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees and will represent each of the five continents.
Acting as mentors to help support and advise young Olympians are the Athlete Role Models, who are typically active or recently retired Olympians nominated by the IFs, such as Japanese wrestler Kaori Icho, [31] Italian Simone Farina [32] and Namibian Frank Fredericks. [33]
Emphasis on exchange goes beyond the CEP. Another unique feature of the Youth Olympic Games is mixed-gender and mixed-national teams. Triathlon relays, fencing, table tennis, archery and mixed swimming relays are a few of the sports in which athletes from different nations and mixed genders can compete together. [8] YOG organizers are also using social media such as Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter as key platforms for engaging young athletes before, during, and after each celebration of the Games. [8] Multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and multi-age requirements are the targets of the program, which stress the themes of "Learning to know, learning to be, learning to do, and learning to live together". [28]
In early November 2007, Athens, Bangkok, Singapore, Moscow, and Turin were selected by the IOC as the five candidate cities to host the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. [34] In January 2008, the candidates were further pared down to just Moscow and Singapore. Finally, on 21 February 2008, Singapore was declared host of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games 2010 via live telecast from Lausanne, Switzerland, winning by a tally of 53 votes to 44 for Moscow. [35]
On 2 September 2008 IOC announced that the executive board had shortlisted four cities among the candidates to host the first Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012. The four candidate cities were Harbin, Innsbruck, Kuopio, and Lillehammer. [36] IOC president Jacques Rogge appointed Pernilla Wiberg to chair the commission which analysed the projects. As with the Summer Games, the list was then shortened to two finalists, Innsbruck and Kuopio, in November 2008. On 12 December 2008, it was announced that Innsbruck beat Kuopio to host the games. [36] Nanjing, China was selected by the IOC over Poznan, Poland to be the host-city of the 2014 Youth Olympics. The election was held on 10 February 2010, two days before the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. [37] Lillehammer, Norway hosted the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics. [38]
Edition | Year | Host City | Host Nation | Opened by | Start Date | End Date | Nations | Competitors | Sports | Events | Top of the medal table | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I | 2010 | Singapore | Singapore | President S. R. Nathan | 14 August | 26 August | 204 | 3,524 | 26 | 201 | China (CHN) | [39] |
II | 2014 | Nanjing | China | President Xi Jinping | 16 August | 28 August | 203 | 3,579 | 28 | 222 | China (CHN) | [40] |
III | 2018 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | President Mauricio Macri | 6 October | 18 October | 206 | 3,997 | 32 | 239 | Russia (RUS) | [41] |
IV | 2026 [lower-alpha 1] | Dakar | Senegal | 31 October | 13 November | Future event | 36 | 247 | Future event | [43] | ||
V | 2030 | TBD | TBD | Future event | Future event | |||||||
VI | 2034 | TBD | TBD | Future event | Future event |
Edition | Year | Host City | Host Nation | Opened by | Start Date | End Date | Nations | Competitors | Sports | Events | Top of the medal table | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I | 2012 | Innsbruck | Austria | President Heinz Fischer | 13 January | 22 January | 69 | 1,059 | 7 | 63 | Germany (GER) | [44] |
II | 2016 | Lillehammer | Norway | King Harald V | 12 February | 21 February | 71 | 1,100 | 7 | 70 | United States (USA) | [45] |
III | 2020 | Lausanne | Switzerland | President Simonetta Sommaruga | 9 January | 22 January | 79 | 1,872 | 8 | 81 | Russia (RUS) | [46] |
IV | 2024 | Gangwon | South Korea | President Yoon Suk-yeol | 19 January | 1 February | 78 | 1,802 | 7 | 81 | Italy (ITA) | [47] |
V | 2028 | TBD | TBD | Future event | Future event | |||||||
VI | 2032 | TBD | TBD | Future event | Future event |
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | China (CHN) | 105 | 59 | 41 | 205 |
2 | Russia (RUS) | 96 | 74 | 58 | 228 |
– | Mixed-NOCs (MIX) | 48 | 46 | 52 | 146 |
3 | Japan (JPN) | 46 | 46 | 38 | 130 |
4 | South Korea (KOR) | 44 | 29 | 25 | 98 |
5 | United States (USA) | 39 | 42 | 36 | 117 |
6 | Italy (ITA) | 39 | 37 | 38 | 114 |
7 | Germany (GER) | 38 | 47 | 48 | 133 |
8 | France (FRA) | 32 | 33 | 42 | 107 |
9 | Hungary (HUN) | 25 | 20 | 23 | 68 |
10 | Ukraine (UKR) | 22 | 26 | 31 | 79 |
11–127 | Remaining | 429 | 494 | 587 | 1,510 |
Totals (127 entries) | 963 | 953 | 1,019 | 2,935 |
The modern Olympic Games are the world's leading international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition, with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories, participating. By default, the Games generally substitute for any world championships during the year in which they take place. The Olympics are staged every four years. Since 1994, they have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year Olympiad.
Olympic sports are sports that are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2024 Summer Olympics included 32 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by an international governing body called an International Federation (IF).
The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, officially known as the I Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Singapore 2010, were the inaugural edition of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), an Olympic Games-based event for young athletes. Held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010, it was the first International Olympic Committee–sanctioned event held in Southeast Asia. The Games featured about 3,600 athletes aged 14–18 from 204 nations, who competed in 201 events in 26 sports. No official medal tables were published, but the most successful nation was China, followed by Russia; host Singapore did not win any gold medals. Most unique features of the YOG, such as mixed-NOCs teams and the Culture and Education Programme (CEP), made their debut at the 2010 Games.
The 2012 Winter Youth Olympics (YOG) were an international youth multi-sport event featuring winter events that was planned to complement the Olympic Games. It featured athletes between the ages of 14 and 18.
The 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games, officially known as the I Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), were an international multi-sport event for youths that took place in Innsbruck, Austria, on 13–22 January 2012. They were the inaugural Winter Youth Olympics, a major sports and cultural festival celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games. Approximately 1100 athletes from 70 countries competed. The decision for Innsbruck to host the Games was announced on 12 December 2008 after mail voting by 105 International Olympic Committee (IOC) members. Innsbruck is the first city to host three winter Olympic events, having previously hosted the 1964 Winter Olympics and the 1976 Winter Olympics.
Singapore will host the inaugural 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG). According to the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), Singapore's concept fully embraces the Olympic values, with fully integrated Sports, Education and Culture programmes to engage and inspire young people. As a diverse community with many languages and cultures, Singapore is 'united and committed as a country', in its enthusiasm to host the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
The 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, officially known as the II Summer Youth Olympic Games Chinese: 第二届夏季青年奧林匹克运动会; pinyin: Dì'èrjiè Xiàjì Qīngnián Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì, and commonly known as Nanjing 2014, were the second Summer Youth Olympic Games, an international sports, education and cultural festival for teenagers, held from 16 to 28 August 2014 in Nanjing, China. These were the first Youth Olympic Games held in China, making it the first country to host both regular and Youth Olympics following the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, officially known as the III Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, were an international sports, cultural, and educational event held from 6 to 18 October 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They were the first Youth Olympic Games held outside of Eurasia, and the first Summer Games held outside of Asia and the first to be held in the Western and Southern hemispheres. It was the second Olympic Games held in South America after the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games, officially known as the III Winter Youth Olympic Games and commonly known as Lausanne 2020, were the third edition of the Winter Youth Olympics; a major international multi-sport event and cultural festival for teenagers that was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, the home of the International Olympic Committee, between 9 and 22 January 2020.
Lyo and Merly were the official mascots of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics held in Singapore. Lyo is an anthropomorphic red male lion whose name stands for "Lion of the Youth Olympics", while Merly is an anthropomorphic blue female Merlion whose name combines "mer" with "liveliness" and "youthfulness". The duo represent several Olympic values and traits of Singapore. Cubix International designed the mascots, while another local company, Mascots and Puppets Specialists, developed their costumes. Before and during the Youth Olympics, Lyo and Merly appeared in school events, launches and roadshows. They also participated in pre-National Day Parade activities, were displayed at competition venues and were featured in Youth Olympics memorabilia.
This page is a chronological summary of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, held in Singapore.
The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, officially known as the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), were an international multi-sport event held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010. The event was the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, and it saw 3,531 athletes between 14 and 18 years of age competing in 201 events in 26 sports. This medal table ranks the 204 participating National Olympic Committees (NOCs) by the number of gold medals won by their athletes. The Kuwait Olympic Committee was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) prior to the Games, but Kuwaiti athletes were allowed to participate and the country is listed in the table, bearing the Olympic flag.
The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics torch relay was run from 23 July until 14 August 2010, prior to the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics held in Singapore. The torch relay was termed The Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame, or JYOF, by the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC). It began with the traditional flame lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece on 23 July 2010, and was followed by a 13-day round the world tour across five cities, namely Berlin, Germany; Dakar, Senegal; Mexico City, Mexico; Auckland, New Zealand; and Seoul, South Korea. Following the international leg, the torch arrived in host city Singapore on 6 August 2010 for the domestic leg.
The bidding for the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics Games began on 2 February 2009, with cities presented their candidature files. In the competition to host the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2014, the IOC list three cities in December 2009. Guadalajara officially withdrew the bid on 22 January 2010, two weeks after the release of the IOC evaluation commission's report and less than three weeks before the final vote in Vancouver.
The 2026 Winter Olympics, officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and also known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 in three regions, with the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo hosting.
The 2030 Summer Youth Olympics, officially known as the V Summer Youth Olympic Games will be the fifth edition of the Summer Youth Olympics, an international sports, education and cultural festival for teenagers, in a city designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The 2024 Winter Youth Olympics, officially known as the IV Winter Youth Olympic Games and commonly known as Gangwon 2024, were a winter multi-sport event, cultural festival, and fourth edition of the Winter Youth Olympics held between 19 January and 1 February 2024 in Gangwon Province, South Korea.
Bangkok–Chonburi is an official bid for the Summer Youth Olympics by the city of Bangkok and the province of Chonburi and the National Olympic Committee of Thailand. The bid was originally made for the 2026 Games, but after the postponement of the 2022 Summer Youth Olympics in Dakar to 2026, the earliest Thailand could host the games became 2030. It was the second time of Thailand and the city of Bangkok bid the Youth Olympic Games after conceding to Singapore in the bidding for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.
The 2026 Summer Youth Olympics, officially known as the IV Summer Youth Olympic Games and commonly known as Dakar 2026, will be the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympics, an international sports, education and cultural festival for teenagers, in a city designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Originally scheduled to be held for 18 days in Dakar, Senegal, from 22 October to 9 November 2022, it is now scheduled to be held there for 13 days—from 31 October to 13 November 2026, becoming the first IOC event to be held in Africa.
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