The IOC launched the Youth Olympic Games at the 119th IOC Session in Guatemala City in July 2007. The Games aim to bring together talented young athletes - age group 14 to 18 - from around the world in an event which balances sport, education and culture.

The Vision

The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) stated vision for the Youth Olympic Games is:

"is to inspire young people around the world to participate in sport and adopt and live by the Olympic values"

Alongside the competition and sporting aspect of the Games, there will be educational programmes on the Olympic values, the benefits of sport for a healthy lifestyle, the social values sport can deliver and the dangers of doping and of training to excess and/or of inactivity.

The Objectives

The IOC's stated objectives for the Youth Olympic Games are:

1. to bring together the world's best young athletes and celebrate them
2. to offer a unique and powerful introduction to Olympism
3. to innovate in educating and debating Olympic values and challenges of society
4. to share and celebrate the cultures of the world in a festive atmosphere
5. to reach youth communities throughout the world to promote Olympic values
6. to raise sports awareness and participation among young people
7. to act as a platform for initiatives within the Olympic Movement
8. to be an event of the highest international sporting standard

Youth Olympic Games Host Cities

Singapore were choosen as host city for the first Youth Olympic Games which featured all the sports on the programme for the 2012 Olympic Games, but with a more limited number of disciplines and events.

The first Summer Youth Olympic Games will gather approximately 3,200 athletes and 800 officials and feature 100 sailors in four sailing events: one person dinghy boys; one person dinghy girls; windsurfing boys; and windsurfing girls.

Nanjing, China was chosed to host the second Summer Youth Olympic Games.

International Olympic Committee Website