POSTED: August 18th 2010
NewsUpdate
Youth Games open up Olympic opportunity for smaller cities to join the party
NIKKI WICKS / Sports Features Communications
SINGAPORE, Aug 18: The Youth Olympic Games are an opportunity for smaller cities to become part of the Olympic movement, says Darryl Seibel of the British Olympic Association.
The inaugural Summer Youth Games are currently being played out on the island country of Singapore and, while the IOC has been keen to stress the educational and cultural values for the young competitors, Seibel believes cities large and small around the world can also benefit.
Seibel, the BOA's head of Olympic media and communications strategy, said: "Not every city can host the Olympic Games because of the cost, the size and the magnitude of the event. But the YOG is a nice opportunity for cities which have an aspiration to welcome the world but may not be in the position to welcome 10,500 athletes from 205 countries, 20,000 media and everything that goes with that. This is a good opportunity to play an important role in supporting the Olympic movement globally.
"If you look at where the Games have been awarded subsequently to Singapore and who are bidding for future editions, they fit into that."
The inaugural winter edition of the YOG will be hosted in Innsbruck, Austria in January 2012 and the second summer event in Nanjing, China in 2014. In April this year, Norway's National Olympic Committee put forward Lillehammer as a candidate city for the second Winter YOG in 2016.
City officials from Glasgow have been attending the Games in consideration over a possible bid.
Earlier this week, IOC member Prince Willem-Alexander revealed a Dutch interest in playing hosting. The Prince, who was watching badminton at the Singapore Indoor Stadium and rowing at Marina Reservoir, said: "It's something that our NOC is looking at and it's the reason I'm here.
Waiting on FIFA
"First we have to wait for FIFA's decision on host nations for football's 2018 and 2022 World Cups [for which a joint HollandBelgium bid has been submitted]. I hope we win the (bid to host the) football World Cup but if not, this could be an interesting option."
He said he was in Singapore to see "what the talk is about," and that the YOG was an excellent addition to the Olympic movement - "It really lives up to expectations of sport being played at a very good level but (is) an event which allows the athletes to enjoy their games, too.
"It's a good addition to the Olympic movement. It should not become a sub-Olympics standard of sports but maybe it can be a test-bed for new sports, new systems, new electronics, new ticketing procedures."
Speaking before the opening ceremony at the Singapore YOG, IOC president Jacques Rogges insisted that this is not a commercial venture. When asked about interest from sponsors, he said: "They are supporting the Games in a major way and are very happy about its introduction. I should emphasise these are not commercial Games but, like all events, the sponsors are there for support."
Keywords · YOG · Youth Olympics · Seibel · Rogge
For more information contact:
Laura Walden ()
All original materials contained in this section are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Sports Features Communications, Inc the owner of that content. It is prohibited to alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.
