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 features that are unique to the YOG, such as mixed-NOCs teams (comprising youths from different countries) and the Culture and Education Programme (CEP), made their debut at the 2010 Games.
Although the concept dates back to 1998, formal plans for the YOG were only first announced at the 119th IOC session on 6 July 2007. On 2008, Singapore was selected as the host city after defeating Moscow 53–44 in a postal vote by 105 International Olympic Committee (IOC) members. The Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC) prepared eighteen competition venues and twelve training venues. The Float@Marina Bay hosted the opening and closing ceremonies and the Youth Olympic Village was located at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The committee also selected Games mascots Lyo and Merly (a lion and a female merlion), the Spirit of Youth emblem (through a design competition) and the theme song "Everyone", performed by five singers representing each major continent, combining North and South America.
Online media, Asian newspapers and 166 television broadcasters provided extensive coverage of the Games. The torch relay, which began on 23 July 2010, comprised a thirteen-day world tour of five cities, each representing a continent, and a six-day domestic leg. Highlights of the opening and closing ceremonies include performances about Singaporean history and culture, a Olympic cauldron, flags being brought onto stage and items featuring YOG symbols. The Games were marred by discrepancies in the budget and attendance figures, two wrestlers caught doping, a walkover in the taekwondo final and allegations that Bolivian footballers were overage.
Bidding process
The concept of the YOG was developed in 1998 by Johann Rosenzopf in response to concerns over childhood obesity and declining youth participation in sports. IOC President Jacques Rogge formally announced plans for the YOG at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City on 6 July 2007. Singapore, which had hosted the 117th session, made its first formal bid to host a multi-disciplinary sporting event of this magnitude. Positive factors in its bid included its high connectivity with the world, its youthfulness as an independent country, and its positive reputation for excellence and multiracial harmony. The city-state rolled out a high-publicity campaign which included being amongst the first to launch its official website, bid logo (despite IOC rules against bid logos) and a bid tagline "Blazing the Trail" on 2007. It also got the local population to support its bid, including an effort by students to collect signatures.
+ 2010 Summer Youth Olympics bidding results City NationVotes Singapore 53 Moscow 44
Eleven cities expressed interest in hosting the Games, nine of which ultimately applied. Five cities amongst the nine were selected for the shortlist: Athens (Greece), Bangkok (Thailand), Moscow (Russia), Singapore, and Turin (Italy). The list was further shortened to two finalists, Singapore and Moscow. On 2008, Rogge announced that Singapore had won the postal vote 53–44 and was thus selected as the host for the Games.
There were concerns over whether two new venues that had been planned – a Youth Olympic Village and an equestrian complex – would be ready in time for the Games. A construction expert believed the plan for an Olympic Village at the National University of Singapore (NUS) was feasible, and that the equestrian venue could be delivered on time. In spite of the expert's findings, the Youth Olympic Village at the NUS's University Town did run into difficulties owing to increasing construction costs. It was subsequently decided that existing student halls of residence at Nanyang Technological University in Jurong West would be used for the Olympic Village.
Development and preparations Organisation The Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC) was tasked with organising the inaugural Games. It was aided by a panel of advisors composed of Cabinet ministers and Senior Parliamentary Secretary Teo Ser Luck. In addition, an Inter-Ministry Committee was established with Niam Chiang Meng, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports as its chairman. Singapore also received some international support for the Games preparations. The People's Republic of China, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, expressed its desire to assist Singapore in its preparations. Sebastian Coe, Lord Coe, Chairman of the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Summer Olympics, announced that members of his organising team, including coaches and administrators, planned to attend the event. The Bid Committee secured 4,310 guaranteed rooms in 36 hotels. The official hotel partner for the Games was Fairmont Singapore.
Costs The IOC initially projected in 2007 that the Youth Olympic Games would cost US$30 million to stage. Singapore won its bid in 2008 with a budget of US$75.5 million (S$105 million) with strong government support. The budget was later increased to (), thrice the original amount, which the organisers attributed to major revisions in the scope and scale of the Games. Costs were increased for logistics and transport, security, and upgrades of various sports venues and technology. Financially, local companies received about 70%, or , worth of contracts from the Games. Concerns over cost overruns were dismissed by SYOGOC Chairman Ng Ser Miang. The cost overruns was to become an issue that was raised by opposition parties during Singapore's 2011 general elections.
Venues and infrastructures
Eighteen competition venues were used at the Games. Events took place at 11 pre-existing venues, one new venue (the Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre), and six temporary venues that will be removed following the Games. Twelve venues were also set aside for training purposes. Certain venues such as the Singapore Indoor Stadium and The Float@Marina Bay were temporarily converted to host sports events, while Kallang Field was upgraded to be able to host the archery competition. The Float@Marina Bay, a floating stage, was the main stadium for the Games. Capable of seating 25,000 spectators, it hosted the opening ceremony on 14 August, was a venue for the cycling event, and also hosted the closing ceremony held on 26 August 2010.
All competition and non-competition venues were within 30 minutes of the Youth Olympic Village, the Main Media Centre (MMC) and the Olympic Family Hotels (OFH). An Event Transport Operations Centre (ETOC) managed all transport matters relating to the YOG, providing real-time travel information. A shuttle service linked all YOG venues for all accredited persons, who were also entitled to complimentary travel on public buses and the Mass Rapid Transit system. Youth Olympic Lanes were designated along key routes for faster access to all YOG venues.
The Youth Olympic Village (YOV) of the Games housed over 5,000 athletes and team officials for 18 days from 10 to 2010. Located in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the YOV served as accommodation and a preparation point for the Games, and also hosted specially designed cultural and educational activities for athletes. On , it was announced that Parliamentary Secretary and SYOGOC advisor Teo Ser Luck, former national sprinter Canagasabai Kunalan and former national swimmer Joscelin Yeo had been appointed as the Village Mayor and Deputy Village Mayors respectively.
Torch relay
Plans for the Youth Olympic torch relay, dubbed the Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame (JYOF), were unveiled on 2010. The torch used was high, wide, and weighed . The flame was lit at Olympia in Greece on 2010 and travelled to five cities representing the continents Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania and the Americas. The relay travelled through the following cities, dubbed the "Celebration Cities":
Berlin, Germany Dakar, Senegal Mexico City, Mexico Auckland, New Zealand Seoul, South Korea
After spending 13 days on its world tour, the torch relay continued for another six days in Singapore. A portable cauldron at the Marina Bay Promenade was lit by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew on at the end of the torch relay in Singapore.
The Games Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the Games was held on at The Float@Marina Bay, a floating stage near downtown Singapore. Approximately 27,000 spectators attended the event, which took place against a backdrop of the city's skyline. Event tickets cost between S$30 and S$200. The show, the largest ever held by the city, involved over 750 hours of rehearsals. Over 7,000 performers, mostly under the age of 18, took part in the ceremony. At the centre of the stage was the tall Olympic cauldron designed by Randy Chan as a lighthouse. It was flanked by six giant LED displays, which stood behind a reflecting pool containing of water. Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong was present at the event.
Following pre-show warm-up and a countdown led by children and young drummers, the show began proper at 20:10 hrs (UTC+8)—a reference to the year of the event—with a fireworks show, followed by a cultural segment titled "" that featured Chinese, Malay and Indian performers. The segment ended with performances by homegrown artistes of Eurasian and Peranakan heritage, symbolising the mixture of tradition and modernity in Singapore. Audience members were greeted with pre-recorded messages from several Olympic ambassadors: Olympians Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps and Yelena Isinbayeva, members of the band Thirty Seconds to Mars, and actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li. The flag of Singapore entered the stage with the Deyi Military Band, who had won the Display Band of the Year Award and Best Drum Major of the Year Award in the Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging Display Band Competition 2010, performing "Five Stars Arising", and the national anthem while the flag was raised.