Zhu Shanlu, director of the Nanjing 2014 Summer Youth Games bid committee, said he felt nervous when seeing the narrow result. Nanjing won the vote over Poznan by a narrow margin of 47-42. He said, “I had thought about another result because I always knew how hard and fierce it was to compete with Poznan”.
He told a news conference, “we have a lot of things to do in the future and we are ready to take the responsibility. Our city was very famous for its long history and the college education. We hope the Youth Olympic Games can boost the development of the physical education in China”.
Zhu said, “we don’t need to build new venues for the YOG because we’ve already had high-level stadiums for the National Games five years ago which are quite capable for the OG. We don’t have to waste money”.
Twenty one of the required 25 required venues are already in existence and in close proximity to the proposed Olympic Village.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Gilbert Felli said “the standard of the Youth Olympic Games is not the same with the Olympic Games, so we don’t need huge stadiums. Small venues can create better atmosphere for the youth”.
Zhu said, “we want the emphasis to be on education, sports and cultural exchange” saying that the audience and the functions of the Beijing Games and Nanjing were not quite the same.
He added, “the Olympic Village will be used as the rental apartment for the university graduates. We have a sustainable after-use plan for facilities of the YOG”.
More than 97 per cent of Nanjing residents supported the city’s bid and according to a survey by the Nanjing Opinion Poll Center taken last December, 93.38 per cent will be willing to work as volunteers for the Games (96.52 per cent below the age of 35).
Nanjing’s mayor Ji Jianye told Xinhua Thursday, “we are ready for the next few years’ work and we will give all out to the events organization and the facilities. We will design some cultural activities which will help youngsters from different countries and regions know each other better and provide them with the best access to the Youth Games”.
The mayor said Nanjing has a Games budget of $117 million and 21 of the required 25 venues are all within 30 minutes of the proposed Olympic Village site.
The volunteer recruitment program will open to the public soon. Organizers estimated that 10,000 to 50,000 volunteers are needed for the Games.
Meanwhile the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee congratulated Nanjing on winning the Games. NG Ser Miang, Chairman, SYOGOC and IOC Vice President said, “SYOGOC looks forward to working close with Nanjing to share the knowledge and experience of organizing the first Youth Olympic Games with the view to create sustainable programs that would leave a lasting legacy to the youth of the world”.
