Singapore To Host First Youth Olympics

Source : The Business Times, February 21, 2008

Singapore will host the inaugural Youth Olympics in 2010, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Thursday.

It won the right to stage the games in a straight contest up against Moscow. It will be the first time for the city-state to host a multi-disciplinary sporting event of such a magnitude.

The brainchild of IOC chief Jacques Rogge, the Youth Olympics will feature traditional sports such as athletics and swimming, but also some innovative events such as beach-wrestling and BMX bike riding.

Mr Rogge made the announcement himself from the IOC headquarters in Lausanne.

Primarily aimed at encouraging youngsters to get involved in sport and spend less time in front of computer and television screens, the games will see 3,500 athletes aged between 14 and 18 competing in 26 sports.

Singapore is proposing 24 venues, with four being built as temporary facilities, including one large cluster of 13 in its Marina-Kallang area.

The Youth Olympic Village would be located at a new US$423-million student residential complex at the National University of Singapore, slated for completion months before the event.

Singapore is budgeting US$75.5 million to run the event covering everything from educational and cultural programmes to development of services and transport. -- AFP