Bids For The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics - Overview of Host Bid

Host of the 117th IOC Session, Singapore made its first formal bid to host a multi-disciplinary sporting event of this magnitude. Banking on its high connectivity with the world, its youthfulness as an independent country and its reputation for excellence and multi-racial harmony, the city-state rolled out a high-publicity campaign. These included being amongst the first to launch its official website, bid logo (dispute IOC rules against bid logos) and a bid tagline "Blazing the Trail" on 16 October 2007 and getting the local populance to support its bid, including an effort by students to collect 1 million signatures in support of the games.

Singapore's bid got off to a rocky start when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong expressed concern on 15 July 2007 that the city may not be ready to host the games as the Singapore Sports Hub is expected to be ready only in 2011. By August, however, the city announced its intentions to proceed with the bid. Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development, Youth and Sports Teo Ser Luck went to study Beijing in September, and by October, Prime Minister Lee expressed full support.

Singapore intends to put up "fully integrated sport, education and cultural programmes" as part of the Games, with emphasis on "compactness" and "vibrancy". All 26 sports will be featured, utilising 24 venues around the city. Suburban facilities such as the Bishan Stadium (for athletics), the Singapore Sports School (Modern Pentathlon), Tampines Bike Park (cycling) and the Toa Payoh Swimming Complex (aquatics and diving) were highlighted as a means of bringing the event to the people. The Youth Olympic Village will be located at the new student residential village of the National University of Singapore, slated for completion months before the event on the former Warren Golf Course. Amongst other educational plans, the bid includes a proposal to build a Sports Museum and Library and the offer of six Singapore Olympic Scholarships annually for young athletes to attend the Singapore Sports School.

In the IOC evaluation, concerns were still expressed over the building two new venues - the Olympic Village and equestrian complex. However, a construction expert found that the $423 million University of Singapore Olympic Village plan was feasible, and a backup plan should they not be finished was also feasible. The equestrian venue was also expected to be built in time.

The $75.5 million budget is considered reasonable and has strong government support. (It is also closer to the initial target of $30–45 million when the Youth Games concept was announced.) The plan was also praised for its compactness.