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Watch the lighting of the first Youth Olympic Flame in history!Using the sun’s rays and a parapolic mirror, on the 23 July 2010, the first Youth Olympic Flame in history was lit in an official lighting ceremony outside the famed Temple of Hera in Olympia (Greece). The torch was then passed to the Journey"s first torchbearer, Apostolos Koutavas, who will represent Greece in trampoline at the first Summer Youth Olympic Games 2010 in Singapore (14-26 August 2010).
In the 22 days leading up to the Games some 2,400 torchbearers will take the flame to all five continents in a journey designed to promote the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect among the youth of the world. After reaching Berlin on 24 July it will move on to Dakar (26 July), Mexico City (30 July), Auckland (1 August) and Seoul (4 August). A six-day torch relay beginning 5 August is planned for the final destination, Singapore.
Watch the lighting of the flame
The first Winter Youth Olympic Games will take place between 13 and 22 January 2012 in Innsbruck and Seefeld and will bring together 1.058 athletes from over 70 countries who will compete in the seven sports on the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games programme. Alongside the sports element they will participate in a Culture and Education Programme (CEP) which will raise Participants’ awareness of the Olympic values and topics like Olympism, skills development, well being & healthy lifestyle, social responsibility and expression through Digital Media. The integration of local youth, leading to an intercultural exchange and various cultural initiatives make the most fascinating sporting event become an unprecedented festival.
For up-to-the minute information on Innsbruck 2012 please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and become a part of the Innsbruck 2012-Community!
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Win a trip to the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore as an official IOC photographerTwo years before Innsbruck and Seefeld will host the Winter Youth Olympic Games 2012, Singapore welcomes the first-ever Youth Olympic Games this summer (14-26 August 2010). As the excitement continues to build, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is eager to get you in on the action with a special photo contest.
Youth Olympic Games Ambassadors Yelena Isinbayeva (a two-time Olympic gold-medal winning pole vaulter) and Michael Phelps (a 14-time gold-medal winning swimmer) are asking to the public to share photos that you think embody the spirit of the Youth Olympic Games. The winner of the contest will be flown to Singapore, where they will capture history by becoming an official IOC photographer at the inaugural Summer Youth Olympic Games and receive a training session from an experienced Olympic photographer!
Find out more from Yelena and Michael here.
The IOC will choose the lucky winner on 31 July.
For more information on the Youth Olympic Games, visit: www.olympic.org/youtholympicgames
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Since the ground breaking ceremony for the Youth Olympic Village (YOV) at the end of 2009, major progress has been achieved. From 13 to 22 January 2012 the YOV will provide accommodation for approximately 1.660 athletes and officials from over 70 nations. Right after the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games 2012 in Innsbruck the 444 barrier free apartments, built by the Neue Heimat Tirol, will be at the disposal of apartment seekers in Innsbruck.
To update yourself on the development of the YOV just watch the YOV webcam.
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Innsbruck gearing up to operational phase of 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games preparationsThe Coordination Commission of the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games concluded today its second visit to the city of Innsbruck. The Commission, led by its Chairman, Gian-Franco Kasper, received updates from the Organising Committee (IYOGOC) on the status of preparations for the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012 and met with local partners and government authorities.
The two-day session allowed IYOGOC to present the outcome of its strategic planning phase, including an initial Culture and Education Programme (CEP) concept. The Commission was also impressed by the construction project for the Youth Olympic Village, which is progressing on schedule and will provide accommodation for approximately 1,660 athletes and officials from 13 to 22 January 2012.
Athletes and officials can expect top-infrastructure
The Commission was happy to note that some of the already existing and high quality venues are being further developed and will leave a lasting legacy in the Tyrol region. Seefeld, for example, is constructing a new ski jump platform and biathlon facilities which will strengthen its position as a Nordic sports centre.
Coordination Commission visits Patscherkofel
Included in the programme of the Commission’s meetings was a site visit to the Alpine Skiing area of Patscherkofel invited by Peter Schröcksnadel. After the Olympic Winter Games 1964 and 1976 the “Olympic Mountain” will be the venue for the Olympic Alpine competition for the third time in 2012.
Positive Outcome
Commenting after the meeting, Gian-Franco Kasper said, “We have had very productive meetings with our partners at Innsbruck 2012. Much progress has been made since our first visit to the host city last October, and the team at IYOGOC has grown significantly to cope with the increasing workload and detailed planning. The Commission was particularly impressed by the dynamic and innovative qualities of the young team in place and is confident that Innsbruck will host great Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012.”
Tyrolean Vice-Governor Hannes Gschwentner said: “The preparations for the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games are proceeding well. The young team under the leadership of Peter Bayer is working hard and doing an excellent job – this was also confirmed by the IOC Coordination Commission.”
Next step is Singapore
Innsbruck 2012 will be able to draw on the experience and the lessons learned by the Singapore 2010 Organising Committee through its participation in the IOC Observer Programme organised during the Games in Singapore this summer and the official debrief that will be held a few months after the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games as part of the IOC’s knowledge management programme.
The Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, to be held between 13 and 22 January 2012, will bring together 1,058 athletes between 14 and 18 years of age from approximately 70 National Olympic Committees to compete in the seven sports on the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games programme. A fully fledged education programme will raise participants’ awareness of the Olympic values and topics like healthy lifestyles and the fight against doping. A number of communications initiatives will link the youth of the world with the event. A culture programme will ensure a festive and pleasant atmosphere within the host city.
Members of the Coordination Commission: Gian-Franco Kasper, IOC member and Chairman; Ottavio Cinquanta, IOC member; Pernilla Wiberg, IOC member; Rebecca Scott, IOC member; Victor Khotochkin, NOC representative; Robert Storey, IF representative; Janko Dvorsak, EYOF Coordination Commission member; and Gilbert Felli, IOC Olympic Games Executive Director. The Coordination Commission is the group of representatives from the IOC and the Olympic Movement who will be monitoring the Youth Olympic Games preparations and guiding the Innsbruck Organising Committee.
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Daniel Gruber will be Austria’s Young Reporter in SingaporeIn the role of the host country of the first Winter Youth Olympic Games 2012, Austria was given the special honour of nominating a “young reporter” for the first Youth Olympic Games 2010 in Singapore. The Young Reporter Training Programme was developed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the occasion of the first Youth Olympic Games 2010 in Singapore. 28 young journalists, cameramen, photographers and presenters aged 14-18 from 23 countries are given the unique opportunity to receive comprehensive training in all relevant sports journalistic areas within the world’s most important major sport event.
In March 2010 Daniel Gruber was nominated by the Austrian Olympic Committee (AOC) to be young reporter for Singapore. At the end of May the 18-year old Tyrolean from St. Johann was approved by the IOC. A variety of experiences as presenter of many national and international sport events (such as the Koasalauf 2010 European Mountain Running Championship) as well as his self-confident appearance make the young Tyrolean be the perfect representative for Austria within the Young Reporters Programme.
Besides classical print journalism the young participants will be trained in TV and radio reporting as well as online and new media coverage of live events under the guidance of an experienced journalist and training team. The work of the young reporters will be included in the official coverage of the Youth Olympic Games and shall inspire adolescents from all over the world with the purpose of the Olympic values.
The valuable journalistic and intercultural experiences, which Daniel will be gaining from August 13 to 26 2010, will be supporting him to gain ground in the international world of sports journalism. Furthermore, his work will inspire the young generation for the Olympic values and of course the first Winter Youth Olympic Games 2012 in Innsbruck and Seefeld.
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First pictures of the Innsbruck 2012-Photo-Shoot!A lot of fun, a lot of sun: Alena, Paul, Chanigan, Lisa, Manuel, Kalina, Lukas and Olivia did a great job this weekend!
With perfect weather all weekend long, glittering snow on the Stubai Glacier on Saturday, and delicious, organic specialties from Tyrol: The eight young models, photographer, stylists and the Innsbruck 2012-Team definitely enjoyed the photo shoot this weekend.
On Friday afternoon we explored downtown with the brand new tramways to get some funny and creative shots in Innsbruck. Posing in front of the Golden Roof or the Olympic Rings of the ’64 and ’76 Olympic Winter Games for example, our models gave the photographer a good chance for beautiful pictures.
On Saturday, we started early to get on top of the Stubai Glacier. Up there, 3000 m above sea level, with glittering snow, Paul, Chanigan, Manuel, Kalina, Lukas, Olivia and Lisa had a lot of fun, which you can definitely see by looking at the pictures.
On Sunday, we stayed inside our photographer’s studio, taking pictures with musical instruments, skateboards and video cameras. The delicious, regional specialties did their best to keep the Innsbruck 2012 models in a good mood, and helped in setting the mood for singing traditional Tyrolean songs.
A big thank you to Agrarmarketing Tirol, Stubaier Gletscherbahnen and Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe for supporting and inviting us.
We are proud to present you the first pictures of our photo shoot weekend!
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IOC launches new Youth Olympic Games visual identity “YOG-DNA”In just 200 days, at 20.10 SGT on 14 August 2010, Singapore will open its doors to 3,600 of the world’s best young athletes for the first Youth Olympic Games (YOG). To celebrate the countdown, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has today [26 January] launched the visual identity of the Youth Olympic Games - “YOG-DNA”.
The “YOG-DNA” label can be viewed on the YOG website, “the Cube” www.olympic.org/yog, and will be integrated into all YOG digital and social media concepts in both the build-up to Singapore 2010 and future YOG editions. A film has also been created, which takes the viewer on a journey to understand what it means to have YOG-DNA.
“YOG-DNA” is targeted at young people, not as a logo or a brand, but as a label. It represents the attitudes and freedom of young people and has no restrictions like a traditional “brand”. It is to be used by young people as a stamp of approval for anything that has the “Spirit of the Youth Olympic Games”. The YOG-DNA label will also be amalgamated for the first time into a Youth Olympic Games emblem for Innsbruck 2012, which will be launched in February during the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.
IOC President Jacques Rogge said, “The 200-day countdown is a great milestone in our journey to the Youth Olympic Games. So much has been achieved over a short space of time and we are now in the final stretch. We are not only building an event for the world’s most talented young athletes, we are creating a platform to communicate to young people worldwide to interact through sport, culture and education, all of which is underpinned by YOG-DNA, the Spirit of the Youth Olympic Games”.
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Innsbruck 2012 launches new Winter Youth Olympic Games EmblemThe Innsbruck 2012 Organising Committee for the first Winter Youth Olympic Games (Innsbruck 2012) today launched its new emblem at a Youth Olympic Games Night at Austria House in Whistler, Canada.
In attendance at the launch was (IOC) Vice-President and Chairman of Singapore 2010 Ng Ser Miang; IOC Coordination Commission Chairman for Innsbruck 2012 and International Ski Federation (FIS) President Gian-Franco Kasper; Pernilla Wiberg, Innsbruck 2012 Coordination Commission Member; Austrian Olympic Committee President Dr Karl Stoss; and Tyrol Tourism Board Director Josef Margreiter.
Ng Ser Miang, IOC Vice-President said, “The Youth Olympic Games are not just an event for talented young athletes, but also a platform to communicate to young people all over the world, for them to interact and involve themselves in the community through sport, culture and education. ‘YOG-DNA’ is at the heart of this mission and now, for the first time, an integral part of the host city emblem. The unveiling of this emblem is a proud moment for Innsbruck, Austria and the Youth Olympic Games.”
Gian-Franco Kasper, IOC Coordination Commission Chairman for Innsbruck 2012 and FIS President said, “The Innsbruck 2012 emblem is a reflection of Innsbruck’s history, region and nation and it symbolises the journey to the first Winter Youth Olympic Games. It is a youthful emblem and a striking identity to be used by the Innsbruck Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee to reach out to young people around the world.”
The YOG DNA Emblem
The new emblem reads “Innsbruck 2012” and, as a key component, the IOC’s brand identity for the Youth Olympic Games “YOG-DNA” has been integrated for the first time. In harmony with Innsbruck 2012, “YOG-DNA” is a striking label targeted at young people and is the representation of their attitudes, freedoms and creativity. It also contains the Olympic rings, signifying the values of excellence, friendship and respect.
A youthful and vibrant city
The design of the emblem reflects the vibrant, youthful city in the heart of the Alps combined with its traditional and natural way of life. The city’s name, “Innsbruck”, refers to its founding close to the bridge over the River Inn. Innsbruck relates this to its legacy as past Olympic Games hosts in 1964 and 1976 and the journey to the first Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012.
The Golden Roof, the most famous sight in Innsbruck, is an essential, unique part of the Innsbruck 2012 emblem. It symbolises the well-known hospitality of the Tyroleans, and the golden colour represents excellence in sports and cultural events.
Innsbruck 2012
On 12 December 2008, Innsbruck (Austria) was elected as host city of the first Winter Youth Olympic Games at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Innsbruck won the vote against Kuopio (Finland) by 84 votes to 15.
The Innsbruck Youth Olympic Games in 2012 will be based on the seven sports included in the Vancouver 2010 programme with a limited number of disciplines and events. Approximately 1,000 athletes between the ages of 14-18 will compete, and the Games will run from 13 to 22 January 2012.
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YOG emblem launches athletes back in timeJust as Innsbruck launches its 2012 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) emblem, current and past Olympic athletes reflect on how much the YOG could have helped them in their career.
Medal-winning Alpine skier and current sports commentator Frank Wörndl remembers his very first turn at the Olympic Games in Lake Placid, and how competing at the Games is also a mental game.
“An athlete should stay in the Olympic Games even if he has no chance at a medal because he can learn how to organise himself when he"s in a situation to win a medal.”
Wörndl said the YOG would give young athletes a chance to prepare themselves mentally if they chose to take the next step up to the Olympic Games.
Vancouver Games ski jumping competitor, 25-year-old Austrian Andreas Kofler, was named ambassador of the Innsbruck YOG during the emblem launch.
“In my youth I wasn"t the best sportsman, and it could have given me some motivation,” Kofler said about competing had the YOG existed when he was younger.
Double Olympic gold medal winner and member of the IOC Coordination Commission for Innsbruck 2012 Pernilla Wiberg recalls her trip as a 15-year-old to the World Skiing Youth Championships and how it left a memorable imprint in her life.
“That was amazing, but if I had the chance to go to the Youth Olympic Games - wow - that would have been the biggest goal for me.”
By Kimiya Shokoohi, YOG reporter.
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Olympic Village Architectural Competition projects available in bookformTogether with the Mayor of Innsbruck, Christine Oppitz-Plörer and Peter Bayer, CEO of the Innsbruck-Tirol Olympische Jugendspiele GmbH, Dr. Klaus Lugger, CEO of the Neue Heimat Tirol presented the book of the “Olympic Village architectural competition”. The long way to the 444 new apartments is described in this book. A large part of these apartments will be used for accommodating the 1,658 athletes and coaches during the Winter Youth Olympic Games 2012.
“This book documents an important step of the city’s development”, states Innsbruck’s Mayor Oppitz-Plörer. “The population of Innsbruck does not only get the urgently needed apartments, but at the same time a space inviting to spend one’s leisure time.”
“As organisers of the First Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck 2012, it is of crucial importance to us that athletes and coaches enjoy their stay in the Tyrol between January 13th -22nd 2012”, Peter Bayer, the CEO of the Innsbruck 2012 points out. “Our target is to send our young visitors home as ambassadors for Innsbruck, Tyrol and Austria.”
People on the construction site are working hard to ensure the timely completion of the 444 apartments. “This year’s fall, the topping-out ceremony of the Innsbruck Youth Olympic Village will be celebrated”, commented Dr. Klaus Lugger. He proudly showed the invitees of the book-presentation the fast-growing construction site.
The book “Architekturwettbewerb Olympisches Dorf” can be ordered on www.haymonverlag.at for 19.90 €. It is only available in German language.
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Ground breaking ceremony for the 3rd Olympic Village in Innsbruck
NHT will build 444 apartments on Eugen-Barracks-Area
Through the perfect cooperation of all involved, the new Neue Heimat Tirol could invite to the Ground Breaking for the 3rd Olympic Village in Innsbruck. NHT-CEO Prof. Dr. Klaus Lugger thanked the urban authorities, the Housing Authority Tirol and military commandant Major-General Herbert Bauer for the professional cooperation, which enables a completion in due time by the date of transfer to the Olympic Committee in December 2011. In total, 1,657 athletes and team officials from over 50 nations will use the apartments for regeneration and lodging during the Games from January 13th to the 22nd. Acting CEO Mag. Peter Bayer thanked the Neuen Heimat for their dynamic support on behalf of the Youth Games 2012 GmbH. Mayor Hilde Zach is pleased with the 444 barrier free apartments, which will be at the disposal of apartment seekers in Innsbruck after the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games.
13 Apartment cubes of passive house quality
The winning project of a competition is composed of 13 cube shaped objects. Looking after the contemporary architecture is the architectural team Reitter/Eck & Reiter as well as the architectural firm DIN A4. All 444 apartments will achieve the exceptional energy-saving quality of passive-housing.
53 cared for apartments, 900 bikes racks
352 raised buildings are being built in excellent locations, 53 of which are being taken care of by Innsbruck Social Services GmbH (ISD). 23 rented apartments, 55 subject buildings and 14 free financed condominiums as well as 509 underground parking places are coming. 900 bike racks encourage the use of the nearby bike network and the car free visit for the City Center. The Reichenau Police Station will receive a new, attractive annex in one of the new buildings.
60 Mil. Euros as Economic Stimulus
NHT-CEO Director. Dir. (FH) Alois Leiter is convinced that with construction costs of € 61.6 Mil, a bigger economic stimulus will be given. The investment volume of the NHT, including basic costs averages €75.7 Mil. The 13,000 m2 underground garage will encompass the 26,304 m2 plot west of General-Eccher-Straße. The useable living area of all 13 buildings averages around 29,600 m2. Leiter spoke of a onetime rate of approval in light of the fact, that the act of the sale with the City of Innsbruck was first signed nine months ago on March 13th 2009.
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Austria Celebrates its Olympic ChampionsExtraordinary Reception in Innsbruck
On Tuesday, the Maria-Theresien Street gleamed in a red-white-red sea of flags for the reception for the 21 Olympic medal winners. The Tyroleans cheered for their successful athletes and wildly celebrated the Austrian medal count: with four gold, six silver and six bronze medals brought in the third best performance in history.
119 Starts, 49 Placings
The XXI Olympic Winter Games 2010 in Vancouver brought 119 starting positions, 49 ranks between rank 1 and 8 in the disciplines of Biathlon, Nordic Combined, Luge, Skeleton, Alpine Skiing, Freestyle Skiing (Ski Cross, Aerials and Moguls), Ski Jumping and Snowboard, 16 medals and 33 honorary ranks (ranks 4 to 8) in total.
Overview of the medal winners:
Wolfgang Loitzl, Andreas Kofler, Thomas Morgenstern and Gregor Schlierenzauer (Ski Jumping: Team, Gold)
Gregor Schlierenzauer (Ski Jumping Individual: Normal and Large Hill, Bronze)
Andreas and Wolfgang Linger (Luge: Doubles, Gold)
Nina Reithmayer (Luge: Individual, Silver)
Bernhard Gruber, David Kreiner, Felix Gottwald and Mario Stecher (Nordic Combined: Team Competition, Gold)
Bernhard Gruber (Nordic Combined, Bronze)
Marlies Schild (Alpine Skiing: Slalom, Silver)
Elisabeth Görgl (Alpine Skiing: Downhill and Giant Slalom, Bronze)
Andrea Fischbacher (Alpine Skiing: Super G, Gold)
Andreas Matt (Freestyle: Ski Cross, Silver)
Simon Eder, Daniel Mesotitsch, Dominik Landertinger and Christoph Sumann (Biathlon: 4 x 7.5km Relay, Silver)
Christoph Sumann (Biathlon: Pursuit, Silver)
Benjamin Karl (Snowboard: Parallel-Giant Slalom, Silver)
Marion Kreiner (Snowboard: Parallel-Giant Slalom, Bronze)
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New leadership for the Winter Youth Olympic Games appointed unanimouslyWith Richard Rubatscher as the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Peter Bayer as new CEO the Winter Youth Olympic Games have a new leadership.
The certified accountant Richard Rubatscher will dedicate himself in particular to future budget procedures and controlling the Winter Youth Olympic Games. "For the first time in the history of the Winter Olympic Games the best youth athletes between 14 and 18 from over 50 nations will compete against each other. Our goal must be to prepare and operate the Games in the best possible way while maintaining Innsbruck"s long Olympic Tradition. With 1,048 athletes we will welcome about the same amount of athletes as in 1976 in Innsbruck. The number of participating nations and events will be approximately double the amount. Top priority has been the creation of a well-grounded budget to ensure smooth operations without aftermaths", explained Rubatscher on the occasion of taking office.
Since 3 July, Peter Bayer has taken over the interim (CEO) management together with Juergen Steinberger. He replied the new job advertisement and got chosen from among 43 other candidates. The marketing professional and winter sports enthusiast (he has participated several times in the longest ski race in the world in Lech) is particularly well known in the Tyrol region for organising successful youth events.
On his appointment Bayer stated optimistically: Our success is measured by the quality of the sports events and for the first time also from the development of an attractive culture and education programme for all participants and the youth of Tyrol. An authentic youth-oriented social programme will be crucial for the sustainable experience of an Olympic Winter Youth Festival.
Mayoress Hilde Zach, Tyrolean Government Member Patrizia Zoller-Frischauf and AOC President Dr. Leo Wallner, the shareholders of the Winter Youth Olympic Games, are convinced that they found the right expert for this job. They are sure the event is a great opportunity for the provincial capital, for the Tyrol region and for Austria. In 2012 Innsbruck will become the only city that has hosted the Olympic Games for the third time.
Profile of Peter Bayer
Originally from the province Vorarlberg, Peter Bayer (resident of Innsbruck since 1989) gained plenty of first-hand experience as a Marketing and Event Director of numerous worldwide sports events after his studies in Innsbruck. His international network in the marketing world in Portugal, Switzerland, Germany and Japan as well as his contacts to the IOC round up his profile.
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Inaugural Visit of IOC President Jacques RoggeIOC President Jacques Rogge paid Innsbruck the honor of an inaugural visit from January 14 to 15, 2009. The newly appointed Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for Innsbruck 2012, FIS President Gian-Franco Kasper, was part of the accompanying IOC delegation which also included senior IOC administrators.
On January 15, 2009, the Host City Contract was signed by IOC President Rogge, Innsbruck Mayor Hilde Zach, and IOC Member Leo Wallner in his capacity as President of the Austrian Olympic Committee.
The IOC delegation was hosted by Innsbruck 2012 President Christoph Platzgummer and Innsbruck 2012 Vice President Hannes Gschwentner. Within 24 hours President Rogge and Chairman Kasper met with representatives of important stakeholders, visited the venues and held a first meeting with the Innsbruck 2012 organising committee.
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Innsbruck 2012A Sport + Media Experience for Young Olympians
Innsbruck 2012 has created a truly innovative concept for the first Winter Youth Olympic Games, a fully integrated sports + media experience designed to inspire young people athletically, culturally and vocationally.
The two-community, two-cluster compact winter sports plan is balanced against a Culture and Education Programme (ECP) that gives each young participant an opportunity to collaborate across cultures in the creation of athlete-generated Internet content that can be shared with the world during the Games. Drawing on theories of innovation management, Innsbruck has designed a media-rich ECP environment where young Olympians can immerse themselves in a series of media platforms—print, television, radio, photography and the Internet—to pursue the creative expression of friendship, excellence and respect while learning to cooperate and collaborate with peers from every continent.
In its stunning natural environment between towering peaks in the middle of the Alps, Innsbruck offers an innovative vision for the Winter Youth Olympic Games that will help transform the sporting event into the new worldwide Youth Olympic Movement the IOC is intent on creating.
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