(ATR) The IOC awards the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games to Nanjing, the former capital of China.
IOC members selected the Chinese city over Poznan, Poland during the Session in Vancouver on Wednesday. Nanjing received 47 votes to edge Poznan with 42.
"We had two outstanding candidatures from two fantastic cities. Both expressed the spirit of the Youth Olympic Games and both were capable of staging the event,” IOC President Jacques Rogge said. “We are looking forward to working with Nanjing, and are confident the Youth Olympic Games in 2014 will be a success.”
It is the first time a YOG host city has been elected at an IOC Session. Both the inaugural 2010 Singapore YOG and Innsbruck 2012 were elected by postal votes.
Nanjing seemed to be the slight favorite heading into the vote following last month's IOC Evaluation Report of the candidate cities. The report said that Nanjing presented "minimal risks to the IOC" while it cited concerns with Poznan and Guadalajara, Mexico, which dropped out of the race last month.
Nanjing offers a budget of $117 million and the IOC says the bid enjoysfull government support.
Most of Nanjing's venues are in place. The bid book says 12 of the 15 venues are in use.A permanent Nanjing Hockey Stadium was in the works irrespective of the IOC vote and two temporary facilities could be built to host the youth sports gathering.
The IOC report did point out that the city presents a risk of "over-sizing compared with the minimum requirements and YOG philosophy set out by the IOC in terms of venues and service levels." But it said Nanjing 2014 will work to resolve the issues.
In addition, the report also said Nanjing needed more integration of global themes to serve all YOG audiences. Last month, the bid somewhat addressed the issue by unveiling the slogan "Youthful China, and Blessings for the YOG."
The 2014 YOG is set for August 16 to August 28 during China’s summer vacation period.
Nanjing is the ninth largest city in China with a population 7.5 million residents. The city has a rich history and Nanjing served as the nation's capital from 1911 to 1949.
Written by ATR Staff.
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