The IOC, which has sent letters to all National Olympic Committees to invite bids, has set a deadline of March 1, 2012, for submissions to host the Games. The 2018 Youth Olympics will be the third edition of the Summer Games following the 2010 event in Singapore and the 2014 Olympics in Nanjing, China.
The letter to the NOCs was accompanied by a Summer Youth Olympic Games brochure and candidature procedure as well as a questionnaire. A shortlist of candidate cities will be selected in January 2013 after candidature files are submitted by October 15, 2012, and the host city will be announced in June 2013 after a report is published by the IOC Evaluation Commission the previous month.
The Youth Games will feature 3,800 athletes between the ages of 15 and 18 and also 1,900 team officials. “The Games also look to educate young athletes on the importance of sport for their health and social integration, and to inform them, through cultural and educational activities, about the dangers linked to sport, such as doping, training to excess and inactivity,” read a statement from the IOC.
The IOC will host a ‘Bidding for the Games’ conference on November 1-2 this year for NOCs and cities interested in bidding for the Youth Olympics or Olympic Games. The first edition of the Winter Youth Olympics will be staged next year in Innsbruck, Austria.
