The Youth Olympics are a multi-sport event organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) every two years, alternating between Summer Youth Olympics and Winter Youth Olympics. Selection of the host city is done by postal voting by the members of the IOC four to five years prior to the tournament, in which the IOC members vote between candidate cities which have submitted bids. Bids for the first five Summer Games have been made by 17 cities in 16 countries.
The bid process consists of two rounds. First, cities and national Olympic committees (NOCs) may show their interest and submit a preliminary bid, becoming applicant cities. Through analysis of the questionnaires, the IOC gave a weighted-average score to each city based on the scores obtained in each of the questionnaire's eleven themes: political and social support, general infrastructure, sports venues, Olympic Village, environment, accommodation, transport, security, past experience, finance, and legacy. IOC's executive committee then selects a short-list of candidate cities. The candidate cities are investigated by the IOC Evaluation Committee, who make an evaluation report. These submit a more extensive bid book and are subject to additional evaluation, which is presented to the IOC members. Voting occurs as an exhaustive ballot by mail, which may occur through multiple rounds until a single city holds a majority of the votes. IOC members from a candidate NOC may not vote in any round while their country remains in the election. The first two selections were done by postal votes; since the selection for the 2014 Games, voting has been done at an IOC Session.
Summer Youth Olympic Games The following is a list of bids for the Summer Youth Olympics, sorted by year. It consists of the year the Games were held or scheduled to be held, the date the decision was made, the city and country which issued the bid, and the result of the bid parties. The bid listed first for each games is the one selected by the IOC. Games Year Bid party Result Final selection process NoteCity NOCs Date IOC Session I 2010 Singapore Awarded to host the I Summer Youth Olympic Games (53 votes) 21 February 2008 None, Postal vote Moscow Eliminated in the first voting (44 votes) Athens Not shortlisted to the final candidature stage Bangkok Not shortlisted to the final candidature stage Turin Not shortlisted to the final candidature stage Debrecen Not shortlisted to the candidature stage Guatemala City Not shortlisted to the candidature stage Kuala Lumpur Not shortlisted to the candidature stage Poznań Not shortlisted to the candidature stage II 2014 Nanjing Awarded to host the II Summer Youth Olympic Games (47 votes) 10 February 2010 122nd in Vancouver, Canada Poznań Eliminated in the first voting (42 votes) Guadalajara Withdrew during the candidature stage III 2018 Buenos Aires Awarded to host the III Summer Youth Olympic Games (49 votes) 4 July 2013 Extraordinary in Lausanne, Switzerland Medellín Eliminated in the second voting (39 votes) Glasgow Eliminated in the first voting (13 votes) Poznań Withdrew during the candidature stage Rotterdam Withdrew during the candidature stage IV 2026 (postponed from 2022) Dakar Awarded to host the IV Summer Youth Olympic Games (unanimous vote) 8 October 2018 133rd in Buenos Aires, Argentina Abuja Not invited to the candidature stage Gaborone Not invited to the candidature stage Tunis Not invited to the candidature stage V 2030 Asunción In preferred host phase June 2026 146th in Lausanne, Switzerland Bangkok In preferred host phase Santiago In preferred host phase
Winter Youth Olympic Games The following is a list of bids for the Winter Youth Olympics, sorted by year. It consists of the year the games were held or scheduled to be held, the date the decision was made, the city and country which issued the bid, and the result of the bid parties. The bid listed first for each Games is the one selected by the IOC.
Games Year Bid party Result Final selection process NoteCity NOCs Date IOC Session I 2012 Innsbruck Awarded to host the I Winter Youth Olympic Games (84 votes) 12 December 2008 None, Postal vote Kuopio Eliminated in the first voting (15 votes) Harbin Not shortlisted to the final candidature stage Lillehammer Not shortlisted to the final candidature stage II 2016 Lillehammer Awarded to host the II Winter Youth Olympic Games (sole bid) 7 December 2011 None, Postal vote III 2020 Lausanne Awarded to host the III Winter Youth Olympic Games (71 votes) 31 July 2015 128th in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Brașov Eliminated in the first voting (10 votes) IV 2024 Gangwon Awarded to host the IV Winter Youth Olympic Games (79 votes)10 January 2020 135th in Lausanne, Switzerland Brașov Did not advance to targeted dialogue phase Sofia Did not advance to targeted dialogue phase Ushuaia Did not advance to targeted dialogue phase Harbin or Changchun Did not advance to targeted dialogue phase Sochi Rejected V 2028 Dolomiti and Valtellina Awarded to host the V Winter Youth Olympic Games (89 votes) 30 January 2025 143rd in Lausanne, Switzerland
Bidding cities The following is a list of bids submitted by city. It lists the national Olympic committee, the city, and the games for which failed, and successful bid were submitted.
City Summer Youth Olympic Games Winter Youth Olympic Games Total Buenos Aires 1 (2018) 1 (1) Ushuaia 1 (2024) 1 (0) Innsbruck 1 (2012) 1 (1) Gaborone 1 (2026) 1 (0) Sofia 1 (2024) 1 (0) Santiago 1 (2030) 1 (0) Harbin 2 (2012, 2024) 2 (0) Nanjing 1 (2014) 1 (1) Medellín 1 (2018,) 1 (0) Kuopio 1 (2012) 1 (0) Glasgow 1 (2018) 1 (0) Athens 1 (2010) 1 (0) Guatemala City 1 (2010) 1 (0) Debrecen 1 (2010) 1 (0) Dolomiti Valtellina 1 (2028) 1 (1) Turin 1 (2010) 1 (0) Kuala Lumpur 1 (2010) 1 (0) Guadalajara 1 (2014) 1 (0) Rotterdam 1 (2018) 1 (0) Abuja 1 (2026) 1 (0) Lillehammer 2 (2012, 2016) 2 (1) Asunción 1(2030) 1 (0) Poznań 3 (2010, 2014, 2018) 3 (0) Brașov 2 (2020, 2024) 2 (0) Moscow 1 (2010) 1 (0) Sochi 1 (2024) 1 (0) Singapore 1 (2010) 1 (1) Dakar 1 (2026) 1 (1) Gangwon 1 (2024) 1 (1) Lausanne 1 (2020) 1 (1) Bangkok 2 (2010, 2030) 2 (0) Tunis 1 (2026) 1 (0)
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