The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games ended its third visit to Nanjing Friday with the Commission members praising the strong progress made with just under two years to go until the Games begin August 17 to 28.
The commission, headed by IOC member Lambis Nikolaou, was particularly satisfied with the development of the Youth Olympic Village which is well ahead of schedule.
The organizing committee underlined its commitment to delivering “green Games” with the integration of solar energy and rainwater harvesting in the Village construction.
Several milestones were reached since the commission’s last visit in October 2011. Construction of the Youth Olympic Sports Park, one of the only sports venues to be built from scratch for the Games, began in February 2012 and will be home to hockey, BMX, rugby and beach volleyball during the Games. It will be transformed into a community sports facility.
The venue master plan is close to finalization with 26 competition venues confirmed. Also, 20 of the 28 International Federations have already visited Nanjing, with the remaining federations scheduled to visit during 2012/13.
Nikolaou said, “we are delighted to see the progress made by NYOGOC with just under two years to go. The operational planning stage is a critical phase in which they start to turn their vision into reality”. The support from both central and regional governments and local partners is very positive and together they are on the right track to delivering a successful second Youth Olympic Games”.
Fifteen competition venues will be made available in three distinct themes zones – the Olympic Center zone, the Cultural and Scenic zone and University Town Zone.
China Daily reports organizers have designed culture and education exchange activities for young people, including a walk on the city wall, an Olympic flag relay, and anniversary celebrations.
Yang Weize, Party chief of Nanjing and executive president of the organizing committee, said after visiting the London Olympics, “no new venues will be built if the old ones can be renovated. No new facilities will be purchased if old ones can be repaired. No equipment will be bought if they can be rented, and they won’t be rented if they can be borrowed”.
