Venues of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics

The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics were held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010. A total of 3,600 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 201 events in 26 sports.[1][2][n 1] Events took place at eighteen competition venues, of which eleven were pre-existing venues, one was newly constructed for the Olympics, and six were temporary venues that would be removed following the Games. Another twelve venues were set aside for training purposes. The Youth Olympic Village was a separate non-competitive venue that provided accommodation and activities for the athletes.

The Float@Marina Bay, a 25,000-seater floating platform, hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.

The Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC) organised the Games, which the city-state of Singapore won the bid to host on 21 February 2008.[3] The Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre was the only venue constructed for the Games. Certain venues such as the Singapore Indoor Stadium and The Float@Marina Bay were temporarily converted to host certain sports and events, while the Kallang Field was upgraded to be able to host the archery competition.[4]

The Float@Marina Bay, the world's largest floating stage,[5] was the main venue for the Games, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies.[6] It was also the largest venue in terms of seating capacity at the Games, capable of holding 25,000 spectators. The 55,000-seater National Stadium was not used as it was undergoing demolition to make way for the Singapore Sports Hub expected to open after the Games.[7] Discounting venues which do not have spectator seating such as the National Sailing Centre, the smallest venue in terms of seating capacity was the Kallang Field which could hold 500.

Competition venues

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The Singapore Sports School, which hosted three sports, is a specialized independent school for athletes.
 
The Toa Payoh Swimming Complex hosted the diving competition at the Games.
 
Badminton and table tennis were held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Venue Sports Capacity Type Ref.
*scape [n 2] Basketball 1,000  Temporary [8]
Bishan Sports Hall Gymnastics 1,920  Existing [9]
Bishan Stadium Athletics 4,100  Existing [10]
East Coast Park Triathlon N/A  Temporary [11]
International Convention Centre Boxing, fencing, handball, judo, taekwondo, wrestling 1,000–1,500  Temporary [12]
Jalan Besar Stadium Football 6,000  Existing [13]
Kallang Field Archery 500  Existing [4]
Kallang Tennis Centre Tennis 2,000  Existing [14]
Marina Reservoir Canoeing, rowing 1,000  Temporary [15]
National Sailing Centre Sailing N/A  Existing [16]
Sengkang Hockey Stadium Field hockey 1,000  Existing [17]
Singapore Indoor Stadium Badminton, table tennis 5,000  Existing [18]
Singapore Sports School Modern pentathlon, shooting, swimming 300–1,800  Existing [19]
Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre Equestrian 1,500  New [20]
Tampines Bike Park Cycling N/A  Temporary [21]
The Float@Marina Bay Cycling 25,000  Existing [22]
Toa Payoh Sports Hall Volleyball, weightlifting 2,000  Existing [23]
Toa Payoh Swimming Complex Diving 800  Existing [24]

Training venues

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All training venues listed here existed before the Youth Olympics. Sports which are not listed had their training at the respective competition venues.[25]

Venue Sports
Catholic High School Gymnastics
Choa Chu Kang Stadium Football
Jurong East Sports Hall Volleyball
Jurong East Stadium Football
Jurong West Sports Hall Handball
Jurong West Stadium Football
Jurong West Swimming Complex Swimming
National University of Singapore Table tennis, taekwondo, wrestling
Ngee Ann Polytechnic Football
Raffles Institution (Junior College) Gymnastics
Raffles Institution (Secondary) Gymnastics
Singapore Polytechnic Badminton, football
Youth Olympic Village (Nanyang Technological University, National Institute of Education) Athletics, basketball, boxing, fencing, field hockey, football, handball, judo, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, swimming, weightlifting

Youth Olympic Village

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The Youth Olympic Village (YOV) of the Games housed over 5,000 athletes and team officials from 10 to 28 August 2010. Located in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), it was divided into two zones: the Residential Zone and the Village Square. The Residential Zone consisted of NTU's ten Halls of Residence, namely Halls 3 and 8 to 16. While two of the halls (Halls 3 and 16) were recently completed, most were existing halls with students who were forced to move out temporarily to make way for the event.[26] The Village Square covered the entirety of the existing National Institute of Education campus and included the Event Information Centre, the Culture and Education Programme Plaza (with World Culture Village booths, evening festivals, the Olympic gallery, art installations, the health zone, the career corridor, etc), the main dining hall and retail outlets.

The YOV served as accommodation and a preparation point for the Games, and it also hosted specially designed cultural and educational activities for the athletes.[27] On 7 June 2010, it was announced that Parliamentary Secretary and SYOGOC advisor Teo Ser Luck, former national sprinter Canagasabai Kunalan and former national swimmer Joscelin Yeo were appointed as the Village Mayor and Deputy Village Mayors respectively.[28]

 
Administration Building of Nanyang Technological University, which is the site of the first Youth Olympic Village

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) specified that all members of a National Olympic Committee team delegation had to stay overnight within the Youth Olympic Village for the duration of the Games, regardless of their competition schedules, "and shall participate in both sports competitions and in the culture and education programmes." IOC president Jacques Rogge stressed the need for athletes to enjoy their time at the Games and that "there should not be a gravity that you have at the traditional Games [sic] that's for later." The senior Olympic Games in contrast allow athletes and teams to leave the Games once their competition schedule has ended.[29]

Initial plans were for the YOV to be sited at the National University of Singapore's University Town, which was under construction. However, rising construction costs worldwide as cited by the SYOGOC prompted a shift to NTU.[30] The new US$423 million (S$598 million) construction project at NTU commenced work in 2008 and was completed in 2010.[31] The Straits Times announced in July 2010 that hydrogen-electric hybrid buses would be used to ferry participants around the YOV, being among the first green buses to be used in Singapore.[32] A sculpture, titled The Wind and Wings, was specially made to commemorate the world's first Youth Olympic Village. It was unveiled by President of Singapore S. R. Nathan on 1 August 2010. The sculpture is made up of three tonnes of stainless steel and was sculpted by artist Yeo Chee Kiong.[33]

Notes

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^ 1. Although the Singapore 2010 official website listed the number of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participating at 205 (all NOCs that exist as of 2010),[34] the Kuwait Olympic Committee was in fact banned in January and was thus not allowed to participate.[35]
^ 2. *scape is a public space in the downtown of Singapore dedicated to youth and their activities.[36]

References

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  1. ^ Tan Yo-Hinn (31 July 2010). "Swim sensation Phelps and lightning Bolt will miss Youth Olympics". MediaCorp. Archived from the original on 6 September 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  2. ^ "Youth Olympic Games". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. 20 May 2010. Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  3. ^ "Singapore ecstatic at winning Youth Olympics bid". Channel NewsAsia. MediaCorp. Agence France-Presse. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Kallang Field". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  5. ^ "First youth Olympic flame lit". The Straits Times. Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  6. ^ "Catch the Excitement of Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games Sale of Opening Ceremony Tickets". Around the Rings. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  7. ^ Tan Yo-Hinn (16 July 2010). "Grand Old Dame takes one step closer to destruction". Today. MediaCorp. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  8. ^ "*scape". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  9. ^ "Bishan Sports Hall". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  10. ^ "Bishan Stadium". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  11. ^ "East Coast Park". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  12. ^ "International Convention Centre". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  13. ^ "Jalan Besar Stadium". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  14. ^ "Kallang Tennis Centre". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  15. ^ "Marina Reservoir". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  16. ^ "National Sailing Centre". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  17. ^ "Sengkang Hockey Stadium". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  18. ^ "Singapore Indoor Stadium". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  19. ^ "Singapore Sports School". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  20. ^ "Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  21. ^ "Tampines Bike Park". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  22. ^ "The Float@Marina Bay". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  23. ^ "Toa Payoh Sports Hall". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  24. ^ "Toa Payoh Swimming Complex". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  25. ^ "Competition Venues for Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. 29 April 2009. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  26. ^ "NTU hall residents to make way for YOG visitor". AsiaOne. 7 March 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  27. ^ "Youth Olympic Village". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  28. ^ "Preparations for Youth Olympic Village on Track". Around the Rings. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  29. ^ V Narayan Swamy (29 July 2010). "Athletes 'held captive' at Youth Olympic Games". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  30. ^ Wong Siew Ying (2 August 2008). "Youth Olympic Village to be located at NTU, not NUS". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  31. ^ "Work starts on Singapore's Youth Olympic Village for 2010". Red Sports. 17 February 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  32. ^ Maria Almenoar (20 July 2010). "Green buses to hit roads Aug". Singapore Press Holdings. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  33. ^ Dylan Loh (2 August 2010). "Sculpture unveiled to mark world's first Youth Olympic Village". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  34. ^ "Youth Olympic Games". Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  35. ^ "IOC ban Kuwait national Olympic committee". morethanthegames.com. 5 January 2010. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  36. ^ "About Us – Our Story". *scape. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
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