Fanfare marks opening of first Winter Youth Olympics
INNSBRUCK, Austria (AFP) — The first Winter Youth Olympics opened yesterday with a firework and music display that bridged past and present at the Bergisel ski jump arena overlooking Innsbruck.
“You have come here from 70 countries not just to compete against each other, but also to learn from each other,” International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge told the athletes at the opening ceremony.
“Some of the friendships formed over the next nine days will last a lifetime, and so will the memories,” he said before Austrian president Heinz Fischer declared the Games officially open.
A third-time Olympic host — a historic first — Innsbruck made a point of bridging history and modernity, tradition and high-tech in a crowded and snowy open-air arena with some 15,000 spectators.
A key feature of these Games is the IOC’s desire to educate and expose to new cultures its athletes, and video flashbacks to the 1964 and 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, with their primitive-looking ski equipment and non-digital scoreboards presented a clear contrast to today’s world of social networks and real-time reporting.
Keeping in mind their target audience, the Youth Games (YOG) can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube and athletes have been equipped with a so-called “Yogger,” a USB card that allows them to exchange their personal details with new friends in a heartbeat, simply by touching together the two gadgets.
The traditional entry of the Olympic flag and the final torch relay — featuring Olympic figure skating champion and Youth Games ambassador Kim Yu-na — also represented a literal passing of the torch Friday as former Olympic champions handed the flag and the flame to Youth Games participants.
Three, rather than one, Olympic flames were also lit: in the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympic cauldrons and a new one for the Youth Games, before a large firework display along the ski jump brought the party to a close.
Over 1,000 athletes aged 14 to 18 from 70 countries are taking part in these Games, along with more than 1,400 volunteers from almost as many countries.
They will compete in 63 medals events over until January 22.
The first Youth Games were held in Singapore in 2010 as a summer event.
