Tomorrow is 99 days until the Opening Ceremony of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) and host city Singapore is ready for the world’s youth in August.

Excitement is building around Singapore from the workers finalising renovations at the weightlifting venue to the taxi drivers, hotel staff and locals talking about the YOG countdown.

Anyone who has spent time getting to know the real Singapore (not just the shopping strips and airport) would agree that the International Olympic Committee made a great choice when selecting the city-island state as first hosts of the new event.

Singapore is safe, transport is excellent and although the friendly 4.8 million residents are not known for being sports fanatics, they are renowned as one of the event capitals of the world.

There is no panic at the Organising Committee Headquarters and the locals will take the YOG in their stride like they did APEC in March, the F1 Grand Prix night race and huge international conventions.

Most importantly, Singapore is a melting pot of cultures where residents regardless of nationality and religion; work, live and play together.

The IOC hopes that the YOG will not only engage young athletes and youth around the world but provide a positive experience whereby all competitors return to their homelands as ambassadors for the Olympic values.

The YOG is not just about sport. It comprises a large cultural and education program with the IOC wanting all 3600 competitors to leave having gained much more than international competition. Friendships, knowledge and life skills are a priority.

The Opening Ceremony on 14 August will be held on the world’s largest floating stage at the Marina Bay, with the city skyline providing a spectacular backdrop.

Australia’s own Jessica Mauboy will represent Oceania in performing the YOG Theme Song which she recorded with young singers from the other four continents in March.

An IOC prerequisite of hosting the YOG was that no new venues or infrastructure needed to be built. The venues will provide a competition arena that meets international requirements but does not overwhelm or impose.

Australian Team Deputy Chef de Mission Fiona de Jong believes this is ideal for these inexperienced competitors.

“Being existing infrastructure it will be a little bit different to an 0lympic Games infrastructure in terms of the scale and the size of the grandstands for the spectators. But I think that’s a really nice balance for these athletes not to be overwhelmed by huge stadiums in their first entry to major international competition,” de Jong said.

The Bishan Stadium where athletics will be held is similar to what was the warm-up athletics track for Sydney 2000 (and now main athletics track in Sydney) and the Toa Payoh Swimming Complex where diving will be held is an outdoor venue that could accommodate several hundred spectators.

A university in Singapore will be the location for the Youth Olympic Village where all athletes and officials from 205 National Olympic Committees will live. Many training facilities are right next to the Village and the dining hall, transport to venues and other services will resemble that of the Olympic Games, with the addition of the cultural and entertainment activities providing extra colour and buzz.

For the Australian athletes the YOG will be the greatest experience of their short lives to date and for athletes travelling from less developed countries it will be an even greater eye-opener.

Andrew Reid
AOC