First Youth Olympic Games open in Singapore (News Feature)

By Kai Portmann Aug 14, 2010, 15:59 GMT

Singapore - The inaugural Youth Olympic Games officially opened in Singapore on Saturday, with IOC president Jacques Rogge hailing the event as a new chapter in the Olympic movement.

Organizers hope the mixture of competition and education will become a fixture in the Olympic calendar despite ballooning costs and sluggish ticket sales for some of the premiere's events.

Following a two-hour show featuring performances of dancers, singers and displays of fireworks, Singapore President SR Nathan officially declared open the Games which bring together some 3,600 of the world's most talented athletes aged 14 to 18.

'We open a new chapter in the history of the Olympic movement,' said Rogge, who initiated the 'global forum that combines sports, education and culture.'

Coming from 204 countries and competing over 26 disciplines, including new events like 3-on-3 street basketball, the youngsters will simultaneously participate in wide-ranging educational programmes including workshops on the value of friendship, the dangers of doping and benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

They would have the chance to meet more than 40 past and present Olympic athletes, like Russian pole vault legend Sergey Bubka, in the Athlete Role Model programme, organizers said.

'It's an ambitious project and we approach it with humility,' Rogge said ahead of the opening.

'We will probably make mistakes but the spirit is to learn and improve,' he said, adding that he believed in the concept and hoped the Youth Olympics 'will be a long-lasting competition.'

'I feel like a father waiting in the delivery room for the birth of a baby,' said the Belgian.

Watched by a crowd of 27,000 spectators, the opening ceremony on a floating platform at Singapore's Marina Bay featured performances of Malaysian, Chinese and Indian dancers and singers representing the city-state's multi-racial society and displaying Singapore's history through the ages.

A 12-metre tall monster puppet, operated by 20 people, appeared in a show segment depicting the inner fears athletes have to overcome for achieving their goals.

Singapore national sailor and world champion Darren Choy, 16, was the last torch bearer of the Olympic flame and lit the cauldron designed like a lighthouse.

Singapore was elected ahead of eight other cities in February 2008 to host the first Youth Olympics, which run through August 26.

In the run-up to Saturday's opening ceremony, organizers had to overcome skyrocketing costs and a subdued reaction from sports fans in their efforts to make the Youth Games a success.

Originally estimated at 104 million Singapore dollars (76 million US dollars), the Games' budget was now expected to reach 387 million Singapore dollars, the government said last month.

The ballooning costs provoked some anger in the tightly controlled city-state, with Singaporeans in some internet forums calling the project 'a massive waste of money.'

The game's organisers hope to attract up to 370,000 spectators, paying up to 30 Singapore dollars (22 US dollars) each for tickets, but sales had been sluggish so far.

Recent polls by local media showed that many Singaporeans had little or no interest in the Youth Olympics, citing among other reasons a level of 'sports fatigue' after last month's World Cup in South Africa.

Rogge said that he was not worried by the possibility that not all tickets would be sold.

'This is because it's the first edition of a new tournament,' he said.

The opening ceremony in addition to Singapore's win in the boys soccer tournament on Friday would ignite more interest, said Rogge.