Youth Olympic Games facts for kids

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is a big international sports event for young athletes. These athletes are usually between 15 and 18 years old. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) organizes these games.

The Youth Olympic Games happen every four years. There are Summer Youth Games and Winter Youth Games, just like the regular Olympics. The first Summer Youth Games took place in Singapore from August 14 to 26, 2010. The first Winter Youth Games were held in Austria from January 13 to 22, 2012.

The idea for these games came from Johann Rosenzopf of Austria in 1998. In 2007, the IOC officially approved the creation of the Youth Olympic Games. The IOC wanted to share the costs of hosting the event with the host city. They also wanted to pay for the athletes' and coaches' travel. These games also include cultural exchange programs. Young athletes get to meet famous Olympic athletes too.

Other youth sports events, like the European Youth Olympic Festival, have been very successful. The Youth Olympic Games are based on these events. They also took over from the World Youth Games, which are no longer held.

The Summer Youth Games in Singapore (2010) and Nanjing (2014) each had about 3,600 athletes. They lasted for 13 days. The Winter Youth Games in Innsbruck (2012) had 1,059 athletes. The games in Lillehammer (2016) had 1,100 athletes. These winter events lasted 10 days. The Youth Olympic Games are smaller and shorter than the main Olympic Games.

The most recent Summer Youth Games were in Buenos Aires in 2018. The most recent Winter Youth Games were in Gangwon, South Korea, in 2024. The next Summer Youth Games will be in Dakar, Senegal, in 2026. The next Winter Youth Games will be in the Dolomites and Valtellina, Italy, in 2028.

History of the Games

The idea for the Youth Olympic Games started with Johann Rosenzopf in Austria in 1998. He noticed that more young people were becoming overweight. Also, fewer young people were playing sports, especially in richer countries. He thought a youth version of the Olympics would help.

At first, the IOC was not keen on just a sports event. They wanted the games to be about more than just sports. They wanted to include cultural education and exchange. This is why the Culture and Education Program (CEP) was created. It is a big part of every Youth Olympic Games.

Jacques Rogge, who was the IOC President, officially announced the Youth Olympic Games in 2007. The goals of the YOG include bringing together the best young athletes. They also aim to teach about the Olympic spirit and values.

Singapore was chosen to host the first Summer Youth Olympics in 2008. Later that year, Innsbruck, Austria, was chosen to host the first Winter Youth Olympics in 2012. Innsbruck had hosted the regular Winter Olympics before, in 1964 and 1976.

Hosting the Games

The Youth Olympic Games are smaller than the main Olympics. This is on purpose. It means that smaller cities can host an Olympic event.

Cities that want to host the games must follow certain rules. All events should be held within the same city. New sports venues should not be built. However, cities can build a media center, places for classes, and a village for athletes and coaches. This village is the main place for athletes to stay and hang out.

New or special transportation systems are not needed. Athletes and coaches use local buses and shuttles. For the Summer Games, the main athletics stadium must hold 10,000 people. There also needs to be a swimming facility with 2,500 seats.

The first logo of Youth Olympic Games

The second logo of Youth Olympic Games

The third logo of Youth Olympic Games

Money for the Games

The first estimated costs for the games were about $30 million for the Summer Games. For the Winter Games, it was $15 million to $20 million. These costs did not include building new places. The IOC said that the host city must pay for any new buildings or improvements.

The IOC pays for the travel costs to the host city. They also pay for the athletes' and judges' food and lodging. This is estimated to be about $11 million. This money comes from the IOC's own funds.

The actual cost of the first games in Singapore went up to about $284 million. It was much higher than first thought. It has been hard to get sponsors for the YOG. This is because it is a new event, and companies are not sure how much attention they will get. The Winter Games in Innsbruck cost about $22.5 million, not including new buildings.

Who Can Participate?

Over 200 countries and 3,600 athletes took part in the first Summer Youth Olympics in 2010. Athletes are put into age groups: 15–16 years, 16–17 years, and 17–18 years. An athlete's age is decided by how old they will be on December 31 of the year they compete.

The IOC works with sports groups to decide how athletes qualify. To make sure all countries can send athletes, the IOC created "Universality Places." This means some spots in each event are saved for athletes from smaller countries. This helps ensure that every country can send at least four athletes to each Youth Olympic Games.

For team sports, one team from each continent can compete. A sixth team might be from the host country or chosen by the sports group. A country can send a maximum of two teams (one boys' and one girls' team). Also, no country can enter more than 70 athletes in individual sports.

Sports at the Games

Summer Youth Olympics

Many sports from the main Summer Olympics are also part of the Summer Youth Olympics. This includes most of the extra sports added for the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.

Some team sports use smaller teams. For example, regular basketball is replaced with 3x3 basketball. Football is replaced with futsal. Handball is replaced with beach handball. Field hockey becomes hockey5s. Indoor volleyball becomes beach volleyball. In 2026, baseball will be replaced with baseball5. The 2026 games will have an equal number of events for boys and girls for the first time.

The host city's organizing committee chooses which specific events will be played in team sports. In the 2010 Games, 27 sports were included. For the 2014 Games, beach volleyball and field hockey were chosen as extra sports.

In the 2018 Games, six new sports were added: beach handball, breakdancing, futsal, karate, roller speed skating, and sport climbing. The 28 main Olympic sports are expected to be in the 2026 Games.

The table below shows the sports that have been part of the Summer Youth Olympic Games. Some sports are no longer on the program.

Sport	Discipline	Code & Pictogram		Body	10	14	18	26
Archery	Archery	ARC		World Archery	4	3	3	3
Aquatics	Swimming	SWM		World Aquatics	34	36	36	28
Athletics	Athletics	ATH		World Athletics	36	37	36	36
Badminton	Badminton	BDM		BWF	2	3	3	2
Baseball	Baseball5	BS5		WBSC				1
Basketball	3x3 basketball	BK3		FIBA	2	4	4	2
Boxing	Boxing	BOX		No body recognised AIBA/IBA	11	11	13	10
Cycling	Road cycling	CRD		UCI				4
Dance sport	Breaking	BKG		WDSF			3	2
Equestrian	Show jumping	EJP		FEI	2	2	2	1
Fencing	Fencing	FEN		FIE	7	7	7	6
Football	Futsal	FBS		FIFA			2	2
Gymnastics	Artistic gymnastics	GAR		FIG	12	12	12	5
Handball	Beach handball	HBB		IHF			2	2
Judo		JUD		IHF	9	9	9	8
Rowing	Coastal rowing	ROC		World Rowing				5
Rugby	Rugby sevens	RU7		World Rugby		2	2	2
Sailing		SAL		World Sailing	4	4	5	2
Skate sport	Skateboarding	SKB		World Skate		•		2
Table tennis		TTE		ITTF	3	3	3	3
Taekwondo		TKW		World Taekwondo	10	10	10	11
Triathlon		TRI		World Triathlon	3	3	3	3
Volleyball	Beach volleyball	VBV		FIVB		2	2	2
Wrestling	Beach wrestling	WRB		UWW				8
Wushu		WSU		IWUF		•		4
Aquatics	Diving	DIV		World Aquatics	4	5	5
Canoe	Canoe slalom	CSL		ICF	3	4	4
	Canoe sprint	CSP			3	4	4	×
Cycling	BMX freestyle	CYC		UCI			1
	BMX racing	BMX					1
	Multi-discipline	CYC			1	3	2
Football	Football	FBL		FIFA	2	2
Golf	Golf	GLF		IGF		3	3	×
Gymnastics	Acrobatic gymnastics	GAC		FIG			1
	Rhythmic gymnastics	GRY			2	2	1
	Trampoline gymnastics	GTR			2	2	2
	Multi-discipline	GYM					1
Handball	Indoor handball	HBL		IHF	2	2
Hockey	Field hockey	HOC		FIH	2
	Hockey5s	HO5				2	2	×
Karate		KTE		WKF			6	×
Modern pentathlon		MPN		UIPM	3	3	3	×
Rowing	Rowing	ROW		World Rowing	4	4	4
Shooting		SHO		ISSF	4	6	6	×
Skate sport	Inline speed skating	ISS		World Skate		•	2
Sport climbing		CLB		IFSC		•	2	×
Surfing		SRF		ISA				×
Tennis		TEN		ITF	4	5	5	×
Volleyball	Indoor volleyball	VVO		FIVB	2
Weightlifting		WLF		IWF	11	11	12	12
Wrestling	Freestyle wrestling	WRE		UWW	9	9	10
	Greco-Roman wrestling	WRG			5	5	9
Total events					202	220	243	151
Total sports					33	35	41	25

Demonstration Summer Sports

Some sports have been shown at the Summer Youth Olympics as "demonstration" sports. This means they are not official medal events but are there to be seen. Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, Inline Speed Skating, and Wushu were demonstrated in 2014. They were later added as official sports.

Three sports were demonstrated at the 2018 games. They have not yet been added to future games:

• Karting (details)
• Polo (details)
• Squash (details)

Winter Youth Olympics

All sports from the main Winter Olympics have been part of every Winter Youth Olympics. In 2020, ski mountaineering was added as an optional sport. It was later added to the 2026 Winter Olympics program. The 2024 Winter Youth Olympics were the first Olympic Games to have an equal number of events for boys and girls. No sports have been demonstrated at the Winter Youth Olympics. There have been 46 different events across 16 sports in the Winter Youth Olympics from 2012 to 2020.

The table below shows the sports that have been part of the Winter Youth Olympic Games. Some sports are no longer on the program.

Sport	Discipline	Code & Pictogram		Body	12	16	20	24
Biathlon		BTH		BIU	5	6	6	6
Curling		CUR		World Curling	2	2	2	2
IBSF sport	Bobsleigh	BOB		IBSF	2	2	2	2
	Skeleton	SKN			2	2	2	2
Ice hockey		IHO		IIHF	4	4	4	4
Luge		LUG		FIL	4	4	5	5
Skating	Figure skating	FSK		ISU	5	5	5	5
	Short track speed skating	STK			5	5	5	7
	Speed skating	SSK			8	7	7	7
Skiing	Alpine skiing	ALP		FIS	9	9	9	9
	Cross-Country skiing	CCS			4	6	6	5
	Freestyle skiing	FRS			4	6	8	12
	Nordic combined	NCB			1	2	3	3
	Ski jumping	SJP			3	3	3	3
	Snowboarding	SBD			4	7	9	9
Ski mountaineering		SMT		ISMF			5
Total events					62	70	81	81
Total sports					15	15	16	15

Learning and Culture

Flags of participating nations at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics

Education and culture are very important parts of the Youth Olympic Games. This is not just for the athletes, but also for young people around the world. It also includes people living in the host city.

A special Culture and Education Program (CEP) is held at each Games. The first CEP in Singapore in 2010 helped athletes from different countries work together. It offered classes on topics like health, fitness, the environment, and planning for a career. Students from Singapore set up booths that showed each of the 205 countries taking part.

One of the most popular parts of the program was "Chat with Champions." Here, young participants could listen to inspiring talks. These talks were given by Olympic athletes, both past and present.

Other parts of the CEP include the Young Ambassadors Programme and the Young Reporters Programme. The Young Ambassadors are young people aged 18 to 25. They are chosen by their countries to help promote the YOG. They also encourage athletes to join the CEP programs.

The Young Reporters Programme helps journalism students. It gives them training and real-world experience during the YOG. These young reporters are between 18 and 24 years old. They are chosen to represent different continents.

Athlete Role Models are also part of the program. These are usually current or recently retired Olympic athletes. They act as mentors to help and advise the young Olympians. Famous examples include Japanese wrestler Kaori Icho and Italian Simone Farina.

The idea of exchange goes beyond the CEP. A special thing about the Youth Olympic Games is mixed-gender and mixed-country teams. In sports like triathlon relays, fencing, table tennis, and archery, athletes from different countries and genders can compete together.

YOG organizers also use social media like Facebook and Twitter. They use these to connect with young athletes before, during, and after the games. The program aims to be for many languages, cultures, and ages. It focuses on themes like "Learning to know, learning to be, learning to do, and learning to live together."

Past Games

In 2007, the IOC chose five cities to host the first Youth Olympic Games. These were Athens, Bangkok, Singapore, Moscow, and Turin. In 2008, the list was narrowed down to Moscow and Singapore. On February 21, 2008, Singapore was chosen to host the first Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010. Singapore won with 53 votes, while Moscow had 44.

For the first Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012, four cities were considered in 2008. These were Harbin, Innsbruck, Kuopio, and Lillehammer. The list was then shortened to Innsbruck and Kuopio. On December 12, 2008, Innsbruck was chosen to host the games.

Nanjing, China, was chosen over Poznan, Poland, to host the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics. This decision was made in 2010. Lillehammer, Norway, hosted the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.

Summer Youth Olympic Games

Edition	Year	Host City	Host Nation	Opened by	Start Date	End Date	Nations	Competitors	Sports	Events	Top of the medal table	Ref.
I	2010	Singapore	Singapore	President S. R. Nathan	14 August	26 August	204	3,524	26	201	China (CHN)
II	2014	Nanjing	China	President Xi Jinping	16 August	28 August	203	3,579	28	222	China (CHN)
III	2018	Buenos Aires	Argentina	President Mauricio Macri	6 October	18 October	206	3,997	32	239	Russia (RUS)
IV	2026	Dakar	Senegal		31 October	13 November	Future event		25	154	Future event
V	2030	TBD	TBD				Future event				Future event
VI	2034	TBD	TBD				Future event				Future event

Winter Youth Olympic Games

Edition	Year	Host City	Host Nation	Opened by	Start Date	End Date	Nations	Competitors	Sports	Events	Top of the medal table	Ref.
I	2012	Innsbruck	Austria	President Heinz Fischer	13 January	22 January	69	1,059	7	63	Germany (GER)
II	2016	Lillehammer	Norway	King Harald V	12 February	21 February	71	1,100	7	70	United States (USA)
III	2020	Lausanne	Switzerland	President Simonetta Sommaruga	9 January	22 January	79	1,872	8	81	Russia (RUS)
IV	2024	Gangwon	South Korea	President Yoon Suk-yeol	19 January	1 February	78	1,802	7	81	Italy (ITA)
V	2028	Dolomites and Valtellina	Italy		15 January	29 January	Future event				Future event
VI	2032	TBD	TBD				Future event				Future event

Medal Table

All-time Youth Olympic Games medal table

See also

In Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de la Juventud para niños

• 1998 World Youth Games
• International Children's Games (ages 12–15)
• Gymnasiade (ages 13–18)
• Universiade (ages 17–25)
• Youth (athletics)
• Commonwealth Youth Games