Youth Olympic Games facts for kids

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is a big international sports event. It's for young athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. The International Olympic Committee organizes these games. They happen every four years, just like the main Olympic Games. There are Summer Youth Games and Winter Youth Games.

The first Summer Youth Games took place in Singapore. This was from August 14 to 26, 2010. The first Winter Youth Games were held in Innsbruck, Austria. They happened from January 13 to 22, 2012.

The idea for these games came from Johann Rosenzopf of Austria in 1998. On July 6, 2007, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to create the Youth Olympic Games. The IOC and the host city share the costs of putting on the event. The IOC pays for athletes' and coaches' travel. These games also include fun cultural programs. Young athletes can 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. The YOG is also a new version of the old World Youth Games.

The Summer Youth Games in Singapore (2010) and Nanjing (2014) had about 3,600 athletes. They lasted for 13 days. The Winter Youth Games in Innsbruck (2012) had 1,059 athletes. The Lillehammer games (2016) had 1,100 athletes. These winter events lasted for 10 days. The YOG are smaller and shorter than the main Olympic Games. The most recent Summer YOG was in Buenos Aires in 2018. The most recent Winter YOG was in Lausanne in 2020. The next Summer YOG will be in Dakar, Senegal in 2026. The 2024 Winter Youth Olympics recently took place in Gangwon, South Korea.

History of the Youth Olympic Games

The idea for the Youth Olympic Games started with Johann Rosenzopf in 1998. He noticed that more young people were becoming overweight. Also, fewer young people were playing sports. He thought a youth version of the Olympics could help. It could encourage more young people to get active.

At first, the IOC didn't want just a sports event. They wanted the games to be about learning and cultural exchange too. So, they created the Culture and Education Program (CEP). This program is a big part of every Youth Olympic Games.

Jacques Rogge, who was the IOC President, officially announced the games on July 6, 2007. The YOG has several important goals. These include bringing together the world's best young athletes. They also aim to teach about the Olympic spirit. Another goal is to find new ways to teach and discuss Olympic values.

Singapore was chosen to host the first Summer Youth Olympics. This was announced on February 21, 2008. Then, on December 12, 2008, Innsbruck was chosen for the first Winter Youth Olympics in 2012. Innsbruck had hosted the Winter Olympics before, in 1964 and 1976.

What Host Cities Need

The Youth Olympic Games are smaller than the main Olympics. This is on purpose. It means smaller cities can host an Olympic event. Cities that want to host must keep all events within the same city. They also should not build new sports venues.

However, they can build a media center for reporters. They can also build places for classes and workshops. A village for athletes and coaches is also allowed. This village is the main place for athletes to stay and gather. New transportation systems are not needed. Athletes and coaches use local shuttles to get around.

For the Summer Games, the main athletics stadium must hold 10,000 people. The swimming facility needs to have 2,500 seats.

How the Games are Paid For

The first Summer Youth Games in Singapore cost about S$387 million (about US$284 million). The first Winter Games in Innsbruck cost around US$22.5 million. These costs do not include building new places for sports. The host city pays for new buildings and other big improvements.

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

Sometimes, it's hard to find sponsors for the YOG. This is because it's a newer event. Companies are not always sure how much attention they will get.

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 based on how old they are 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 has "Universality Places." These are special spots saved for athletes from smaller nations. This means 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 it could be another team approved by the IOC. A country can send a maximum of two teams (one boys' and one girls' team). No country can have more than 70 athletes in individual sports.

Sports at the Youth Olympic Games

Summer Youth Olympics Sports

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

The city hosting the games chooses which sports will be played. In 2010, 27 sports were part of the games. For the 2014 Games, beach volleyball and field hockey were chosen. In the 2018 Games, six new sports were added. These included beach handball, breakdancing, futsal, karate, roller speed skating, and sport climbing. The 28 main Olympic sports are expected to be in the 2026 Games.

Sport	Discipline	Code & Pictogram		Body	10	12	18	26
Archery	Archery	ARC		World Archery	4	3	3	3
Aquatics	Diving	DIV		World Aquatics	4	5	5	4
	Swimming	SWM			34	36	36	34
Athletics	Athletics	ATH		World Athletics	36	37	36	38
Badminton	Badminton	BDM		BWF	2	3	3	3
Baseball	Baseball5	BS5		WBSC				1
Basketball	3x3	BK3		FIBA	2	4	4	4
Boxing	Boxing	BOX		No body recognised	11	11	13	10
Canoe	Slalom	CSL		ICF	3	4	4	4
	Sprint	CSP			3	4	4	4
Cycling	BMX Freestyle	BMF		UCI			1	2
	Road	CRD			1	3	2	5
Dance Sport	Breaking	BKG		WDSF			3	2
Equestrian	Jumping	EJP		FEI	2	2	2	1
Fencing	Fencing	FEN		FIE	7	7	7	6
Football	Futsal	FBS		FIFA			2	2
Golf	Golf	GLF		IGF		3	3	3
Gymnastics	Artistic	GAR		FIG	12	12	12	12
	Rhythmic	GRY			2	2	1	2
Handball	Beach	HBB		IHF			2	2
Hockey	Field	HOC		FIH	2	2	2	2
Judo		JUD		IJF	9	9	9	8
Karate		KTE		WKF			6	6
Modern Pentathlon		MPN		UIPM	3	3	3	3
Rowing		ROW		World Rowing	4	4	4	5
Rugby	Sevens	RU7		World Rugby		2	2	2
Sailing		SAL		WSail	4	4	5	6
Shooting		SHO		ISSF	4	6	6	6
Skate	Skateboarding	SKB		World Skate		•		2
Sport Climbing		CLB		IFSC		•	2	2
Surfing		SRF		ISA				2
Table Tennis		TTE		ITTF	3	3	3	3
Taekwondo		TKW		World Taekwondo	10	10	10	11
Tennis		TEN		ITF	4	5	5	5
Triathlon		TRI		World Triathlon	3	3	3	3
Volleyball	Beach	VBV		FIVB		2	2	2
Weightlifting		WLF		IWF	11	11	12	12
Wrestling	Freestyle	WRE		UWW	9	9	10	10
	Beach	WRB						8
Wushu		WSU		IWUF		•		4
Cycling	BMX Racing	BMX		UCI	1	3	1
	Mountain Bike	MTB					2
Football	Football	FBL		FIFA	2	2
Gymnastics	Acrobatic	GAC		FIG			1
	Trampoline	GTR			2	2	2
	Multi-Discipline	GYM					1
Handball	Indoor	HBL		IHF	2	2
Skate	Inline Speed Skating	ISS		World Skate		•	2
Volleyball	Indoor	VVO		FIVB	2
Wrestling	Greco-Roman	WRG		UWW	5	5	9
Total events					202	220	243	244
Total sports					33	35	41	40

Demonstration Summer Sports

Some sports are shown as "demonstration sports" at the Summer Youth Olympics. This means they are not official medal events yet. Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, Inline Speed Skating, and Wushu were shown in 2014. They later became official sports. Three sports were demonstrated in 2018 but are not yet official:

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

Winter Youth Olympics Sports

All the main sports from the Winter Olympics are part of the Winter Youth Olympics. In 2020, ski mountaineering was added. It will also be in the 2026 Winter Olympics. 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 just "demonstrated" at the Winter Youth Olympics. There have been 46 different types of events across 16 sports. These were from the 2012 Games to the 2020 Games.

Sport	Discipline	Code & Pictogram		Body	12	16	20	24
Biathlon		BTH		IBU	5	6	6	6
Bobsleigh		BOB		IBSF	2	2	2	2
Skeleton		SKN			2	2	2	2
Curling		CUR		World Curling	2	2	2	2
Ice Hockey		IHO		IIHF	4	4	4	4
Luge		LUG		FIL	4	4	5	5
Skating	Figure	FSK		ISU	5	5	5	5
	Short Track Speed	STK			5	5	5	7
	Speed	SSK			8	7	7	7
Skiing	Alpine	ALP		FIS	9	9	9	9
	Cross-Country	CCS			4	6	6	5
	Freestyle	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

Culture and Education at the Games

Flags of participating nations at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics

Learning and culture are very important parts of the Youth Olympic Games. This isn't just for the athletes. It's also for young people around the world and people in the host city. Because of this, there's a special Culture and Education Program (CEP) at each event.

The first CEP was at the 2010 Singapore Games. It had activities that helped athletes from different countries work together. There were classes on many topics. These included health, fitness, the environment, and planning for careers. Students from Singapore set up booths. These booths showed off each of the 205 countries taking part.

One very popular part of the program was "Chat with Champions." Here, young participants could listen to inspiring talks. These talks were given by current and former Olympic athletes.

The CEP also includes the Young Ambassadors Programme. This program selects 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 activities.

Another part is the Young Reporters Programme. This program helps journalism students or new journalists. They get training and real-world experience during the YOG. 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 active or recently retired Olympians. They act as mentors to help and advise the young Olympians. Famous examples include Japanese wrestler Kaori Icho and Italian Simone Farina.

The Youth Olympic Games also focus on mixing things up. There are mixed-gender and mixed-country teams. In sports like triathlon relays, fencing, table tennis, and archery, athletes from different nations and genders can compete together.

YOG organizers use social media like Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. These are used 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 Youth Olympic Games Host Cities

In late 2007, five cities were chosen as candidates to host the first Youth Olympic Games. These were Athens, Bangkok, Singapore, Moscow, and Turin. In January 2008, the list was narrowed down to Moscow and Singapore. Finally, on February 21, 2008, Singapore was announced as the host. Singapore won with 53 votes, while Moscow had 44.

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

Nanjing, China, was chosen over Poznan, Poland, to host the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics. This decision was made on February 10, 2010. Lillehammer, Norway, hosted the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.

Summer Youth Olympic Games Host Cities

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		35	244	Future event
V	2030	TBD	TBD				Future event				Future event
VI	2034	TBD	TBD				Future event				Future event

Winter Youth Olympic Games Host Cities

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	TBD	TBD				Future event				Future event
VI	2032	TBD	TBD				Future event				Future event

Images for kids

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  The first logo of Youth Olympic Games

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  The second logo of Youth Olympic Games

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  The third logo of Youth Olympic Games

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)