The Olympics committee has announced Singapore as the host of the 1st Youth Olympic Games in the year 2010. After all the hard work and effort of many Singaporeans, Singapore has finally won the bid to be the host for the first Youth Olympic Games. It is a great responsibility Singapore has taken up and people from all around the world are confident that Singapore would host a great Youth Olympics.
Today we shall take a look back at what Singapore has done to win the bid.
The Chronicles of SG Youth Olympic Games..
26 April 2007 - The birth of the idea of having Youth Olympics was planted on the 26 April 2007 and the IOC executive board members welcome the idea. The goal of having Youth Olympic is to address the decline in the relevance of sports to the younger generation and to give them education based on values. (taken from Olympics official site
22 May 2007 - After an international forum on Sport of Peace and the Olympic Truce, the final list of recommendations supported the IOC’s idea to organize Youth Olympic Games. This would be the new platform to promote the Olympic Truce and the Sport of Peace to the next generation.
Further recommendations and discussions about Youth Olympics continues..
5 July 2007 - the IOC members approved Youth Olympic Games.
The exact aim of the Youth Olympic Games is finalized here -
The Youth Olympic Games aim :
- to bring together talented athletes from around the world to participate in high-level competitions;
- to run, alongside the sports element of the event, education programmes on; Olympic values, on the benefits of sport for a healthy lifestyle, the social values sport can deliver and on the dangers of doping and of training to excess and/or of inactivity.
- to use the latest communications channels to promote Olympic values and the spirit and essence embodied in the Youth Olympic Games.
10 August 2007 - The IOC has announced the bid procedure, questionnaires and games procedure for the Youth Olympic Games 2010.
Singapore has set up a committee to prepare for Singapore’s bid to host the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. You can read the Straits Times Articles here
3 September 2007 - Further announcement on the 3rd of September gives the rest of the competing countries. There are a total of 11 countries including Singapore. These countries are Algiers (Algeria), Athens (Greece), Moscow (Russia), Turin (Italy), Bangkok (Thailand), Belgrade (Republic of Serbia), Debrecen (Hungary), Guatemala City (Guatemala), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Poznan (Poland).
18 September 2007 - The bid committee attends the IOC workshop to show it’s committment towards the Youth Olympic Games. Belgrade (Serbia) has chosen to be a candidate of 2014. The competitions therefore is reduced to 10 countries.
19 September 2007 - A Youth Advisory Committee is set up to allow teenagers to play an active role in the bid towards the Singapore’s bid. Read More
4 October 2007 - Many students has took the initiative to a part in winning the bid for Singapore Youth Olympic Games. A “Support Singapore’s Bid” Banner has been created for bloggers and website owners to show their support by placing it on their sites.
8 October 2007 - Singapore Prime Minster Lee Hsian Loong visiting IOC in Europe to understand the requirements of the Youth Olympics.
24 October 2007 -
29 October 2007 - The submission of the bid. Algeria is not mentioned as countries who have submitted the bid. The competition has reduced to 9 competitors.
8 Novemeber 2007 - The Singapore companies has joined the rally to support Singapore in one way or another. Different companies supported Singapore different way. As countries are not allowed to advertise their bid, these companies has stepped out to give their support by including the Singapore bid logo in it when exporting their products to various countries.
15 November 2007 - The Ministry of Education of Singapore has come up with a Olympic Health Education to educate the youth about the importance of staying active and as well as learning about the Olympic movement.
19 November 2007 - Athens (GRE), Bangkok (THA), Moscow (RUS), Singapore (SIN) and Turin (ITA) were the top 5 shortlisted countries to be competing for the bid. Moscow was ranked first and Singapore ranked second.
3 December 2007 - Ms Elim Chew, the President and founder of 77th Street, was featured in the newspaper for rallying and supporting the Youth Olympics. Merlion and Olympic colour T-shirts were printed and sold in 77th Street stores.
10 December 2007 - DHL Express shows its support by putting up banner at the big balloon.
14 December 2007 - A fruitful one-hour video conference with the IOC Evaluation Commission.
22 December 2007 - 15000 cabbies supported Singapore for the Youth Olympic bids. Car decals were distributed and sticked on the cabbies. A great effort put in by many Singaporean volunteers.
24 December 2007 - Sakae Sushi is featured in Straits Times supporting the Youth Olympics by displaying cards on its conveyor belt and on its screensaver. Sakae Sushi has 35 restaurants all over Singapore. Imagine how much eyeballs that would see these messages when they went dining in the restaurants.
7 January 2008 - Prudential supported by hanging up it’s banner at its customer service center and its website.
11 January 2008 - 2500 students and staff from Nanyang Polytechnic got together in their campus and completed a total of 147,433 push ups. And the most number of push ups was completed by Lim Yi Rui with a total of 2500 push ups.
14 January 2008 - Old Chang Kee also joined in the rally!
20 January 2008 - Kids Sports Fiesta was created in line of Youth Olympics and as a form of support to the Youth Olympics bid.
21 January 2008 - Singapore and Moscow are the 2 finalists that will be hosting the Youth Olympic games.
23 January 2008 - Alexander Chernov, Russian external affairs director of the city’s 2010 bid committee, “wants Moscow to have the honour of hosting the 1st YOG”. He also added that Singapore should host the Youth Olympics in the year of 2014. However Singapore did not give up.
21 February 2008 - 5000 participants from various schools and associations went down to Padang to wait for the announcement of who’s winning the bid. And Singapore is announced the winner of the bid!
Let us know if we missed out any significant event that would fill up the Singapore History of Youth Olympic Games
