Singaporeans celebrated winning the right to host the inaugural Youth Olympics on Thursday, seeing it as the global coming of age for a young city-state and looking ahead to the more pragmatic benefits of extra tourism.
The Southeast Asian country beat the only other contender, Moscow, for an event in 2010 designed to generate enthusiasm for the Olympics among the world's teenagers who in recent years have been turning away from the Games.
If the celebrations in tropical but reserved Singapore were anything to go by, with students dressed as Greek soldiers dancing and children playing in confetti as if it was snow, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge could be onto a winning formula.
"I'm very excited! This is a chance of a lifetime!" said Nur Ros Hanni, 15, a student waving the red and white Singapore flag, one of around 6,000 celebrating in a central field where the announcement was televised live.
The roadside along Singapore's Padang, used for state parades and next to the building where Singapore declared its independence from neighboring Malaysia in 1965, was colored red with confetti. Vendors gave out cookies for free.
"It was an emotional moment for me, and this presents a lot of opportunities for Singapore," said Teo Ser Luck, the city-state's Youth Olympic bid leader.
"The Youth Olympics presents a good chance to bring out the brand awareness of local companies," he told reporters. "I hope this will kickstart sports culture in Singapore."
Singapore has twice hosted the larger Southeast Asian Games, but has seen little in the way of Olympic sporting success since 1960, when it won a silver for weightlifting.
"Singapore has not established itself as a sporting nation yet," said Jamie Coates, 15, a Singaporean born in London, who hopes to change that with the aim of competing in the 400 meters sprint at the inaugural event. He was dressed as a Greek warrior.
The Games will have about 3,200 athletes aged 14-18 competing in 26 sports.
Singapore, which sold itself on its compactness and efficiency, is budgeting $76 million but organizers and economists expect the spin-offs to more than compensate.
"It's branding for Singapore which the government is prepared to pay for," said Ho Woei Chen, an economist at United Overseas Bank, Singapore's second largest bank.
"Formula One is already here and in 2009 we will have the integrated casino resorts ... The boost will be to tourism," Ho told Reuters.
Hugh Young, who heads fund management firm Aberdeen Asset Management in Asia and has lived in the financial services hub for over 15 years, told Reuters the win marks Singapore's emergence as a truly global city.
The country, with a population of 4.6 million, is trying to move away from manufacturing and financial services and develop other services industries such as tourism to fend off competition from larger and older Asian neighbors.
"A young country, and a first Youth Olympics, both fit well together," said Pieter Idenburg, 52, CEO of Suntec Singapore, an office management firm.
"I hope there are enough cheap hotels," he told Reuters.
(Source: Reuters)
