Some 3,600 athletes aged 14 to 18 took part in the Singapore 2010 Games. They were accompanied by 1,850 officials, and some 20,000 volunteers helped make the organisational aspect of the Games a success.
Overall, medals were won by nearly half of the nations and territories (93 of the 205 territories) taking part in the Games – concerning the Aquatics programme (Swimming and Diving), athletes from 30 nations were on the podium. Moreover, the more than 50 Culture and Education Programme activities were extremely popular with the athletes, so much so that additional sessions were added by the organisers. One of the most well-received CEP events was the Chat With Champions session featuring Olympic champions, such as Alex Popov, the Russian swimming legend.
Thank you Singapore, over to you Nanjing!
credit: Xinhua-Syogoc/Meng Yongmin
The athletes participating in Singapore 2010 were joined by 29 Young Reporters, who actively provided content to the international media, while 30 Young Ambassadors supported and mentored their national delegations. Over 40 Athlete Role Models (including Guo Jingjing, in Diving) from the International Federations and International Olympic Committee also offered advice and tips to the athletes in and around the Athletes’ Village.
Global interest in the Youth Olympic Games has been strong, with over 160 rights-holding broadcasters providing coverage and over 1,900 accredited international media in attendance in Singapore. Videos on the Youth Olympic Games Channel have been viewed over five million times, and at one point it was the third most watched YouTube channel worldwide. To date, 36 per cent of all viewers have been under the age of 24. The Games were also broadcast live online on the Singapore 2010 Official Webcasting Platform.
The second summer edition of the Youth Olympic Games will kick off in Nanjing, China, in 2014.